Commentary

Media's Fragmented Election Coverage Landscape

As history unfolds, you can choose your own adventure to the finish line. Unless you are living under a rock you know that tomorrow is Election Night and that tens of millions of Americans will be anxiously following live results to determine who will be our next U.S. President in the White House. 

The way in which we gather state by state analysis and view these live results will be the most accessible and diverse options we have ever had. Nearly 72 million TV viewers watched Barack Obama win in 2008, and over 66 million watched again in 2012. We can almost be assured that those record breaking audiences will be shattered once again this year as curiosity mounts around how this campaign circus will end. 

This year TV will once again be the predominant source for Americans to consume election content but you also have many other ways to follow Election coverage at your fingertips. Most of us will have 2nd and third screens open and will actively dig deeper into the results. 

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Election night coverage will be consumed across the major networks and cable channels from 6pm to 2am EST: ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, FOX, Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, Univision, Telemundo, VICE, PBS, C-SPAN, etc. 

Audiences can also live stream from their computers or smartphones. You can decide how deep you want to go across multiple devices as long as you have internet access. 

  • You can stay on dedicated election landing pages to immerse yourself in local or national analysis.
  • You can go to social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube) to see coverage, share clips and/or post your own political partialities.
  • If you are driving maybe radio is your best option; you can listen to state by state results live on NPR. 
  • If you prefer the really big screen you can go to participating AMC movie theaters to watch results while enjoying complimentary popcorn. 

There will be no shortage of platforms for you to choose between.

  • If you’re a cord cutter, you can watch on Sling TV (free trial for new users).
  • You can also find election content on your AppleTV, your X-Box One, your FireTV, your Chromecast, your Roku and any other over the top device. 
  • Just like Thursday night NFL football, you can even watch live stream video footage on your Twitter App (just go to the Moments tab). Buzzfeed is also partnering with Twitter this year and will tap into their surprisingly impressive news department in order to generate real time election articles and not the typical Disney princess listicles we have become accustomed to.
  • The real-time election startup VoteCastr is partnering with Slate and relying on pre-poll analysis to provide early results information this year while traditional media outlets will still rely on exit polling before they cautiously make any definitive calls.
  • You can go to Politico for state by state analysis or to find interactive maps and charts as well as their live stream.
  • You can go to FiveThirtyEight or follow Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) to hear from the preeminent voice on politics & sports (although presumably his focus will be entirely on Election results tomorrow). 

This year, audiences can access real time election content via Digital, Radio, Print, Cinema and TV channels. They can use which ever device is at their fingertips and no two people will have to have the same experience.  

No matter how you gather your election coverage information, whether you choose @HilaryClinton or @realDonaldTrump, you should be excited to know that you can personalize your experience and choose your own adventure for #Election2016.

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