Oops!
When CNN called Florida for Al Gore in 2000, it wasn't the first time that the news media prematurely called the election wrong. In recent years, probably the most prominent wrong call was in 1948 when the Chicago Tribune called the election for Thomas Dewey over Harry Truman and put it in the headline of their morning edition. "Dewey Defeats Truman" read the headline on the front page of the paper's November 3, 1948 edition, when in fact incumbent President Harry S. Truman had actually beat Republican challenger and Governor of New York Thomas E. Dewey in an upset victory.
The paper's mistake became nationally famous after Truman was photographed holding a copy of the paper during a stop at St. Louis Union Station while returning by train from his home in Independence, Missouri to Washington, D.C. Truman was no doubt very happy to capitalize on the paper's gaffe since the staunchly conservative Republican newspaper had once referred to Truman as a "nincompoop".
The paper relied on its veteran Washington correspondent and political analyst Arthur Sears Henning. Henning concluded that since conventional wisdom and public opinion polls were almost unanimous that a Dewey presidency was "inevitable", Dewey would win the election handily. The first edition of the Tribune therefore went to press with the banner headline "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN". Henning wrote:
"Dewey and (running mate Earl) Warren won a sweeping victory in the presidential election yesterday. The early returns showed the Republican ticket leading Truman and Barkley pretty consistently in the western and southern states... and indications were that the complete returns would disclose that Dewey won the presidency by an overwhelming majority of the electoral vote."
As returns began to indicate a close race later in the evening, Henning decided to stick to his prediction. Only late in the evening, after press dispatches cast doubt upon the certainty of Dewey's victory did the Tribune change the headline. Some 150,000 copies of the paper had already been published with the erroneous headline before the gaffe was corrected.
Truman won the electoral vote by a 303-189 majority over Dewey. The Democrats held the Presidency and regained control of both the House and the Senate.
As the 25th anniversary of the 1948 election approached, the Tribune planned to give Truman a plaque containing a replica of the erroneous banner headline. However, Truman died on December 26, 1972, before the plaque could be given to him.
The paper's mistake became nationally famous after Truman was photographed holding a copy of the paper during a stop at St. Louis Union Station while returning by train from his home in Independence, Missouri to Washington, D.C. Truman was no doubt very happy to capitalize on the paper's gaffe since the staunchly conservative Republican newspaper had once referred to Truman as a "nincompoop".
The paper relied on its veteran Washington correspondent and political analyst Arthur Sears Henning. Henning concluded that since conventional wisdom and public opinion polls were almost unanimous that a Dewey presidency was "inevitable", Dewey would win the election handily. The first edition of the Tribune therefore went to press with the banner headline "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN". Henning wrote:
"Dewey and (running mate Earl) Warren won a sweeping victory in the presidential election yesterday. The early returns showed the Republican ticket leading Truman and Barkley pretty consistently in the western and southern states... and indications were that the complete returns would disclose that Dewey won the presidency by an overwhelming majority of the electoral vote."
As returns began to indicate a close race later in the evening, Henning decided to stick to his prediction. Only late in the evening, after press dispatches cast doubt upon the certainty of Dewey's victory did the Tribune change the headline. Some 150,000 copies of the paper had already been published with the erroneous headline before the gaffe was corrected.
Truman won the electoral vote by a 303-189 majority over Dewey. The Democrats held the Presidency and regained control of both the House and the Senate.
As the 25th anniversary of the 1948 election approached, the Tribune planned to give Truman a plaque containing a replica of the erroneous banner headline. However, Truman died on December 26, 1972, before the plaque could be given to him.