US election coverage: don’t mention China. Here’s a tale of two polls, and the Australian media’s reaction to both. The first is the US election, the second is the looming change of leadership in China which is arguably of greater importance to Australia. One tells us where, in the Asian Century and the media’s carping about the government’s white paper, the local media sees the easy yards; the coverage of the other tells us where the media doesn’t see easy gains for itself. Nowhere is this choice more starkly illustrated than at the national broadcaster.

There’s nothing like a US presidential race to get Australian journos tugging at the bit (and at the bean counters’ tight reins) in an effort to cross the Pacific. The campaign leading up to the first November Tuesday every four years is a big deal, a chance to get close to the candidates and even stand near the future president of the world’s most important country at a time when security is much lighter than after the poll for the winner. “War stories” can last an entire career.

But our big papers seem to have resisted any attempts by some big names to cover it, running US coverage on tight budgets with a single correspondent whose work is fleshed out by using syndicated services from major international titles. Despite the pretensions of some former and current Australian correspondents in the US, they don’t, or rather can’t know or cover everything, so the availability of the other services helps offer readers in Australia a more rounded picture.

But what of our ABC? There seems to have been an almost unseemly surge of reporters criss-crossing the US. At last count around five, perhaps six or seven have reported. — Glenn Dyer (read the full story here)

Front pages of the day. “DECISION TIME”, “DESTINY”, “FINAL COUNTDOWN” or simply “VOTE”. Take your pick from the US papers on election morning (click for a larger version) …

Front (online) page of the day. Meanwhile, the Brits are looking at us today … in a not-very-flattering light. Still, we’ve cracked the lead on the world’s most popular website!

Video of the Day. Incredible footage from the US election showing a voting machine that selects Mitt Romney every time the voter attempts to pick Barack Obama. This year’s hanging chad?