Election night has a different feel when it is experienced behind the scenes in the main media pit.

At Obama’s Election Night event at McCormick Place, a huge projection screen in front of the pit streamed news coverage from around the country.  Before Illinois was called for Obama, the Chicago affiliates of ABC, NBC and CBS were shown along side the national stations.

Three levels of risers were positioned in front of the stage, allowing broadcasters to have uninhibited backdrops for on-air standups and clear views of the President. Media outlets that were not able to afford the more than $1,200 fee for these risers were left fighting for access to a free riser to the side.

These free spots were near impossible to get.  While the main risers have a combined 408 square feet of space, the free riser had only around 30.  Considering there were relatively few outlets able to and willing to pay the fee, the majority of the media was unable to get on a riser to get a good picture of the stage.

In the main media area, hidden from the event floor by bleachers and risers, hundreds of journalists from around the world filled ten rows of tables, each of which were 88 feet long.  Once a media outlet staked out a workspace, they would tape signs, either professionally printed or handwritten on scratch paper, to the tables; securing their area for the rest of the night.  On the tables every few feet there would be a set of six power outlets to ensure that all electronics stayed charged.

Gaining access to the Internet from those devices, however, was a different story.  The massive number of devices that were accessing the campaign-supplied Wi-Fi at any given moment meant that dropped connections were relatively frequent and caused speeds to be slow.  

At one point, multiple outlets lost connection for around an hour. The campaign did increase the bandwidth, but it was still not enough to handle every device. Fox News Channel’s Spanish affiliate MundoFox had to go outside by the portable toilets in order gain signal for the live-streaming camera.

Part of the problem was the sheer number of media personnel; so many that even McCormick’s 300,000 square-foot Lakeside Center was cramped for space.  Granted, not all the outlets sat at the main tables.  Some of the major networks, such as Fox News and CNN, had their workspaces sectioned off with blue cloth panels.

Even with the cramped quarters, energy was high once everyone began to file inside the building.  That excitement dipped momentarily after everyone was settled, but once projections began it was right back up.  The peak, of course, was right after Barack Obama was announced the winner.

Photographers and reporters sprinted between the public walking in and their workstations, which were about 300 feet apart.  The spike lasted until everyone seemed satisfied with the reactions and interviews that they captured.

Afterward, most sat and worked while they waited for the President to arrive.  When he did, some people did not even bother leaving their stations considering there were very few spots where the President could be seen.  Instead, they decided to keep working while watching President Obama gave his victory speech, under 200 feet away, on the projection screen.