By David Bauder
The Associated Press

It's the first big election night since the major television networks messed up - big-time, to borrow a phrase popularized by Vice President Dick Cheney two years ago.

Why should they be trusted again?

"I'd like to think we've learned a lesson, all of us, a lesson in humility," said CNN analyst Jeff Greenfield, who will be on camera for several hours Tuesday.

Election night viewers should expect to see more cautious anchors. Networks are desperate not to make the same mistakes, and are testing complex new systems designed to replace the ones that failed in 2000.

Armchair politicians should also plan on staying up very late to find out which party will control Congress, the night's big story.

In some ways, 2000 was a "perfect storm" that drenched the networks, Mr. Greenfield said. An extraordinarily close presidential election, down to an extraordinarily close race in Florida, exposed previously unseen weaknesses.

Television networks proclaimed Al Gore the winner in Florida, took it back, declared George W. Bush the new president, took that back and then waited with the rest of the country for several weeks for the election to be decided.

"In some ways, the confusion at the networks that night reflected the confusion that was happening on the ground," said This Week host George Stephanopoulos.

Still, that doesn't excuse jumping the gun, he said, "and that's not going to happen this time."

The cable news networks - CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC - all plan extensive coverage. ABC, CBS and NBC will give hourly updates, then one-hour summaries at 10 p.m.

Don't expect many of the whiplash-inducing projections, where one minute after a state's voting booths shut down a network has declared someone the winner.

"I can tell from the mood of this place that it's very sober about accuracy and not necessarily being the first with projections, but being the most accurate," said Chris Matthews, who will anchor MSNBC's coverage.

That, in itself, would be a shift. In past elections, competitive networks would monitor their rivals and if others were first with a projection, voices would be raised.

"Professional pride may be invested in not saying anything until the numbers are actually in," Mr. Stephanopoulos said. "The incentives are working the other way this time."

The networks spent millions of dollars completely rebuilding Voter News Service, a consortium that counts votes, conducts exit polls and helps project winners. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox and the Associated Press are members.

VNS will also make available to the networks the results of an independent vote-counting operation run by the AP. CNN is taking an additional step, counting votes itself to help project winners in 10 states with competitive contests.

But that all adds up to more waiting time for results.

The professionals expect control of the Senate to be the night's big story, with sidebars being control of the House, how the vote plays as a report card for President Bush and how big names like Elizabeth Dole, Walter Mondale and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend fare.

confidence of our viewers."