Ah, Election Day, you never cease to amaze me.

The energy in the air, the certain spring in an advocate’s step completed with a hopeful look in his or her eyes. Yes, an atmosphere like this only comes around every four years.

It’s not just the general public that gets overwhelmed with the patriotic spirit on the first Tuesday in November; journalists consider Election Day the Super Bowl of journalism — where you take out the big guns and emphasize the importance of our democracy. When you get the opportunity to talk to former journalists, the consensus is the same — they usually don’t miss being a journalist, except on Election Day.

As a young pup as far as journalists go, I can only imagine the spirit in a newsroom on Election Day. I imagine it’s stressful and panicked, but an overwhelming sense of the greater good drives you to write faster, broadcast stronger, blog harder.

But there are times when journalism’s tactics are taken overboard, which may come has no surprise to you. As a budding journalist, though, some of the bizarre measures taken by the news media make me slightly ashamed to step into the field one semester from now.

I will start with exhibit A: the CNN hologram. As Black Eyed Peas member Will.i.am appeared as a hologram on screen, I could hear a simultaneous dorkgasm scream across the country. I myself am guilty of a “WTF!?,” which of course then morphed into a full-on “LMFAO.”

But the laugh was hardly worth it as I watched my boyfriend, Anderson Cooper, practically beg the public for help with those sky-blue eyes.

He looked directly into the camera with the eyes of a puppy dog, worrying about what was to come.

CNN, of course, didn’t really learn how to create a hologram before any “Star Wars” nerd could get to it. That would be an impossible feat. Instead, they cheated by using 35 high-definition cameras in a tent surrounding the singer, which were then broadcast together to create a “hologram.”

So basically, Andy was forced to interview thin air while looking into a prompter for which direction he should be facing. Will.i.am, being broadcast from the Barack Obama rally in Chicago, had surprisingly little to say, despite being the writer of the Barack-inspired anthem “Yes We Can.”

Will.i.am could not offer Obi-Wan wisdom because he just had his mind blown by modern technology. Shame on you, CNN. Andy, I still love you.

Now to move on to what broadcast news producers believe enthralls the general public the most: maps, maps and more maps.

One map, two maps, red maps, blue maps! There’s a wonkified breakdown map and a kooky county map. There’s a preposterous polling map that wears a blue and green polka-dot hat!

OK, maybe I stole a few ideas from Dr. Suess, but the idea is the same. The network with the fanciest map wins — if not by the standard of ratings then by the standard of respect from nerds around the country.

The only problem is with high-tech maps is half the time they don’t function properly. Ah, you made yourself look like an ass again, CNN. At least you didn’t call the election early this time. And hey, there were some really, really pretty colors.

In an attempt to reel in the coveted 5 to 15-year-old female demographic, MSNBC hosted their coverage at “Election Plaza.” As a state went to McCain or Obama, the network skated onto the ice rink on Rockefeller Plaza and painted a U.S. map accordingly. You might as well have had Chris Matthews skate out there in a ballerina tutu, MSNBC.

Despite the horrors of this year’s presidential election coverage, I still have hope for the future of journalism. Or at least hope that next time, CNN can harness the power of a real hologram.

Excited, Christina is. Send me your thoughts on how I can one-up these broadcasting fools four years from now at christina.caldwell@asu.edu.