The third and final presidential debate is now over and there is roughly 20 days to go till election day. I have sat glued to CNN during every one of these debates as I have enjoyed the pundits’ opinions and views. Interestingly CNN went from having a few pundits in discussion to having a horde of pundits, but I guess the more opinions the better. My favorite feature so far has been John King’s “Magic Map” coverage of the election poll results and interpretation.

Technically the screen is called the “Magic Wall”, but during the electoral polling map segments Wolf Blitzer and others usually refers to it as the “Magic Map”. The Magic Wall itself is basically a giant interactive computer touch screen. During the coverage CNN has used it to display their online offerings, pulling and pushing screens around, enlarging images and digitally drawing on the screen to highlight items of interest. The big picture is that it is a huge interactive touch sensitive map that can be used to visually display complex data.

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Enter John King and the redubbing of the “Magic Wall” to “Magic Map”. During this election and debate coverage, the Magic Wall has taken on a life of its own as the “Magic Map” with John King as the wizard controlling it. This wonderful devise easily displays the CNN electoral poll maps and allow for easy dissemination of differing scenarios to be examined as well as historical maps to be compared. Also, King frequently uses the write on screen function to point out sticking points. The cool thing about this technology is that complex spatial issues, such locations and effects of swing state poll data, can be easily displayed and demonstrated to audiences through this technology. It truly brings digital cartography to life and allows the commentator to add the spatial dimension to his delivery. This map is very similar to many of the poll maps I have presented in earlier posts, but it is viewable and presentable on television to accompany the narrative.

On a different note, the dubbed name “Magic Map” truly makes me think of a feature on a children’s program. I can just hear Dora or Sesame Street characters singing its name and getting excited about the prospect of seeing the “Magic Map”, maybe this could be the next big step in cartographic and geographic education of our children.

If you want to see similar online interactive content to the displayed maps on the “Magic Wall” you can visit CNN’s website[^]. Also the Washington Post has an interesting write up. As I have said in previous postings please feel free to leave me your thoughts or interpretations in the comments, and please check back as I will be adding additional content to this series soon.