Election audiences are not all looking for the same thing. Some want a quick result or statistic. Others need an explainer. Others want deeper accountability reporting.
That was one of the clearest lessons from Chicago Public Media’s primary election experiments.
Kimbriell Kelly, editor-in-chief of Chicago Public Media, described a “bite, snack, meal” approach designed to match different levels of audience interest. A bite might be a social post. A snack could be an explainer on what an elected office actually does. A meal might be deeper reporting on government accountability.
The organization also experimented with formats. A radio election analysis was recorded on video and made available on demand. By the following morning, the number of people who watched it had doubled.
A “Build Your Ballot” tool proved even more successful. Users could enter an address, review information about candidates, and save their choices to take with them when voting. Traffic to the tool during the primaries was four times higher than during the previous presidential election cycle, Kelly said.
The lesson is not necessarily to create more election content. It is to make existing reporting easier to use.
Actionable recommendations
- Design election coverage for different levels of audience engagement.
- Repurpose reporting across audio, video, social and web formats.
- Build utility into coverage with tools, explainers and practical guides.
Questions for leaders
- Does our election coverage answer practical audience questions?
- Are we making people come to us, or meeting them where they already are?
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