Get inspired by digital coverage of the Nov. 6 Election
As Americans tuned in to the presidential race on Tuesday, newsrooms around the country experimented with ways to wrangle large amounts of data and provide live updates. Here is an excerpt of an ONA Issues post featuring areas where digital journalists created exceptional work.Illustrating the election
The Guardian put together an interactive illustrated recap of President Obama’s and Gov. Romney’s path to the White House. Wendy McNaughton <a href="
Illustrator Wendy MacNaugton covers NPR as NPR covers Tuesday night’s results.
http://storify.com/markstencel/election-2012-what-radio-looks-like”>live-illustrated election night from NPR headquarters, giving readers a glimpse of what radio looks like. (Interested in illustrated journalism? Check out the ONA12 session on why comics make good journalism and advice from Erin Polgreen of Symbolia Magazine on how editors can work with comics journalists.)Live coverage
Dozens of websites did excellent work covering the election live, reaching viewers who wanted a second-screen experience. NPR’s beautiful election dashboard displayed live updates and a gorgeous Tetris-inspired map and results all on one page. Al Jazeera created excellent interactives and continued highlighting issues important to voters throughout its live coverage.
Students did a great job collaborating on live coverage. Columbia’s Tow Center partnered with Columbia Journalism Review to provide live coverage and the #jeelection project, a partnership between 24 J-schools across the country, used RebelMouse to compile election coverage. (Interested in best practices for media collaborations? Check out the ONA12 session The Business of Collaboration.)
Demonstrating the power of data
The New York Times’ “Paths to the White House” charted ways in which either candidate could achieve enough electoral votes to win the election, updated live as results rolled in. The Times also prepared a valuable “shift map,” which demonstrated how voter sentiment changed between the 2008 and 2012 elections. WNYC’s election night map went beyond the traditional approach and broke down counties by their demographics, using terms like “immigration nation” and “evangelical epicenters.” (Interested in working more with data? Check out the notes from WNYC’s — and ONA Board member — John Keefe’s Into to Data Viz workshop.)
Monitoring voter suppression
Mother Jones put together a map of areas where there were incidents of voter suppression or poll problems, along with an explainer on voting. Partnering on the initiative, the Daily Beast captured information online and on Twitter using the hashtag #troubleVoting from voters who reported trouble with casting their votes, and put them in touch with reporters who verified their stories.
Showing the Big Picture
The Washington Post’s supergrid used a beautiful visual timeline to present events throughout the campaign and the election results.
Read more on ONA Issues.
ONACamp Minnesota: Join us for free digital training
Registration is now open for ONACamp Minnesota. Join us Dec. 1 for a full day of workshops and training at the University of Minnesota. ONACamps are free, intensive digital journalism training sessions funded by generous renewed grants from the Gannett Foundation.Generous donors help fund 2013 MJ Bear fellows
After a month-long campaign to raise funds for our MJ Bear Fellows, donors have heeded the call with more than $1,600 — enough to fund one whole Fellow for a year! The Fellowship honors early-career digital journalists, providing them with resources, mentors and other opportunities to advance their careers and develop their innovative projects. A big thank-you to all who donated. Learn more about the Fellowship and show your support for innovative digital journalists.ONA Local
- ONA Philly discusses nationwide trends in online journalism and reports back from ONA12 on Nov. 14.
- ONA DC welcomes David Wright, NPR’s Digital Design Director, for a discussion on designing the storytelling experience on Nov. 14.
- ONA Toronto highlights cool new tools, story-telling methods and technologies that were featured at the ONA12 conference on Nov. 14.
- ONA LA will host Twitter’s Mark Luckie for drinks and engaging conversation on digital journalism and social media on Nov. 15.
- ONA Italy will participate in the Glocal News Festival on Nov.15, with members presenting at a number of sessions on reporting online with a local focus.