A collection of graphics shown at news sites at 11:20pm (EST) last night as election results were coming in…

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The Washington Post tightly integrated the headline with the graphic (most of the other sites had the graphic sitting on its own with no text explanation). Also, the color blocks moving left or right to the line in the middle was an effective method to display the “prize” and how far away each side was from it.

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USA Today also did a good job of providing text context with a headline. But it confusingly stacked color bars (one for this race on top of another for current seats) and used poorly placed labels to try to explain it.

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The NY Times made visitors choose between House and Senate graphics. And the blank white area made it look like a few states in the northwest had disappeared (or been taken over by Canada).

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CNN used different colors within blocks but didn’t explain what they meant.

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The Chicago Tribune offered this plain jane graphic.

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The LA Times version was also pretty plain but at least provided context by showing the net change in addition to the current numbers.

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While we’re on the subject, let’s pause to remember the glory days of Tim Russert and his trusty whiteboard.