Election night coverage expands beyond TV

The days of watching election night coverage glued only to the television set may soon be a quaint anachronism.

Americans have several other ways to follow the returns Tuesday night. Television news divisions are throwing everything they have into the story, and second-screen options are abounding for those with computers and smartphones.

People will be able to construct their own media experiences, seek out desired information, participate in conversations and hear analysis that reflects their own perspectives or none in particular.

Virtually every media organization promises to make a huge amount of information available online, from interactive maps of state-by-state results to data from exit polls.

It's expected to be a big night for social media, and news organizations say they will monitor the conversations and have their own journalists actively participate.

Don't forget show biz: NBC is turning the Rockefeller Center skating rink into a giant map of the United States to be filled in with results. ABC will make Times Square a virtual studio, displaying results and coverage on huge video screens.

Here's a quick guide:

At ABC, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos will be the anchor team. Barbara Walters will offer historical perspective and Katie Couric will monitor social media. A separate live stream, anchored by Dan Harris, will be shown on ABC and partner Yahoo's websites.

On NBC, Brian Williams anchors. David Gregory and Savannah Guthrie will join him, with Tom Brokaw talking about trends and history. NBC will live stream its coverage on various platforms, including Facebook.

For CBS News, Scott Pelley anchors, with Bob Schieffer, Norah O'Donnell and John Dickerson joining him. Byron Pitts is monitoring congressional races.

CNN is activating a battalion for its coverage from its new Washington studio. Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper are the anchors, with 10 analysts lined up. The network is also dispatching 29 reporters to 20 locations.

Fox News Channel's co-anchors are Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly, with analysis from Chris Wallace and Brit Hume. Bill O'Reilly and Greta Van Susteren will appear, the latter assigned to interview Sarah Palin throughout the evening. The Fox broadcasting network airs separate coverage anchored by Shepard Smith. The Fox Business Network will also have its own coverage, anchored by Neil Cavuto with Stuart Varney and Lou Dobbs.

MSNBC's star is Rachel Maddow, with the rest of the network's prime-time team chiming in.

PBS is offering online coverage all day Election Day, switching to TV in the evening. Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff will be co-anchors.

C-SPAN will also take its minimalist approach to coverage on its two separate networks, offering results and victory and concession speeches from around the country.

Former Vice President Al Gore, the star of his own election night drama 12 years ago, will spend Tuesday leading Current's coverage, which also prominently features live Twitter streams.