Super Tuesday’s super coverage tips
Jennifer Brandel did not mince words. The journalist and founder of the engagement journalism organization Hearken had seen enough of how American politics had been covered in modern times, especially in the 2016 presidential election, and knew that changes were long overdue.
In 2019, plans for covering the 2020 presidential election had been on the minds of news organizations across the country for a while, and as coverage aspects were being considered, Brandel said it was time for a cultural change into how elections were covered.
“No longer as news organizations can we presume to understand what our public needs from us, nor can we assume that being first with the latest salacious turn in a campaign is what actually matters.
This is disciplined, this is rigorous, this is not easy. Yes, it will involve making tough choices — anything worth doing always does. Yes, it will require shifting practices that have been in place for years, if not decades. But we all know what the consequences are if we get this wrong again.” — Jennifer Brandel of Hearken in a Medium essay, June 12, 2019
Brandel’s comments came as journalism tackled issues that continue to dominate much of the conversation in the industry. Those issues include addressing not only ways of how trust can be restored with the audience, as well as examining broader economic issues and the impact they will have not just on journalists themselves, but the public more broadly.
Now, one of the pivotal election related events that is an essential part of 2020 election coverage is almost here.
I refer of course to Super Tuesday — where next Tuesday, the 3rd of March, voters in Texas, Minnesota, Alabama, California, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, American Samoa, Colorado, Massachusetts, Vermont, Utah, Virginia, Maine and Tennessee will go to the polls to select their preferences for party candidates for President. The name Super Tuesday comes as the majority of states and areas, especially with larger populations, will hold these elections.
While attention will be paid to the impacts on the campaigns of those seeking party nominations for President, equal attention will be paid by some to how journalists on all platforms will be covering Super Tuesday — for coverage of results and the lead up to the day gives ample opportunities for journalists to be ambassadors of the profession.
In addition, Super Tuesday, and the events and days prior to it (as well as beyond it), also allow journalists and news organizations to equip their audience with the information needed to help inform and engage the electorate.
With that said, here are some tips which might help enhance election coverage as a whole — not just next week, but in the days and months ahead, taken from the lens of projects that some news organizations in primary areas are doing.
Collaboration benefits everyone: Four years ago, groundwork was made to build The Texas Newsroom, a collaboration between KERA in Dallas-Fort Worth, KUT in Austin, Houston Public Media and Texas Public Radio in San Antonio, which launched late last year. The stations collaborate also on the public radio program Texas Standard. (Similar collaborations in public radio have been done in other parts of the country, including, most recently, in states surrounding the Gulf Coast.)
This local collaboration brings benefits for its statewide audience in helping bring a better understanding to issues in their communities.
Don’t doubt depth: As platforms for covering elections expand, so too does the information that exists on those platforms — whether its true or not. Minnesota Public Radio’s news service decided to tackle the issue of information head on as part of its coverage, with a series called “Can You Believe It?” that launched last month.
Issues like disinformation and access to quality information will be prominent as the campaign continues, so attention to this through a series of stories or deep dives can allow for a better understanding of key issues to help inform and engage the electorate in the days and months ahead.
Local voices help in national perspective: This week, KERA will partner with its fellow public broadcaster KQED in San Francisco to present a program previewing Super Tuesday.
The program, which is developed by the production teams of Think and The California Report (programs produced by KERA and KQED respectively), helps in focusing on local voices in those areas to help bring perspective to the nation on issues gaining national attention. While it is easy to get bogged down in horse race coverage, local voices, especially by means of national organizations partnering with local reporters, can help boost this perspective, and in return, boost trust with audiences.
The most important question can be the simplest: When changes were announced in Los Angeles County to in-person voting, Libby Denkmann of public radio station KPCC (and its partner web site LAist) created a guide to address some questions ahead of California’s primary, which is part of the Super Tuesday elections, next week.
In addition to the guide, part of the Voter Game Plan initiative, The station is also doing broader engagement initiatives, inviting questions from its audience through methods like Hearken as well as email and social media. Having audiences be part of the coverage allows for them to be engaged and can also help in boosting trust overall.
When the former special counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress, coverage attracted vast attention for its focus on optics. Indeed, ahead of Mueller’s televised testimony, Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan began one of her columns thusly: “In political media, as in love, there aren’t many chances to correct a serious wrong.”
The story being covered may be different, yet the message remains the same. Indeed, while no two news organizations are alike, the pressure is uniform, for Brandel’s words 8 months ago still ring true — we all know what the consequences will be if election coverage is wrong again.
There is no question that within journalism, there is a lot riding on getting the coverage of the 2020 election right — so there are lessons to take away from these news organizations to help cover one of the most important elections in history. The question that remains is if other news organizations will follow.
