Over the course of 2018, we’ll hear repeatedly how high the stakes are for the midterm elections. Will Republicans lose control of the House? Will Democrats gain seats in the Senate? What do the latest polls say about President Trump’s popularity?
Indeed, elections have consequences. But it’s time for journalists to focus less on horse races and more on the barriers that prevent curious people from getting to the polls.
Many people have busy lives and scarce attention to pay to elections. Often, elections feel like something that happens to people, not a tool designed to help them. As journalists, we can and should help shrink the political process — impersonal and remote — into something tangible and resonant.
What does that look like? It means less reporting from the party and campaign level, more reporting from communities. It requires us to drop assumptions about what voters should care about and instead observe and listen for their unmet information needs. It means producing coverage that not only explains and informs, but entertains and connects emotionally.
Here’s how you could do it: Dispatch your reporters to neighborhoods where turnout has traditionally been low. Talk to people who have never voted and talk to people who show up to the polls without fail. Ask them about their experiences. What do they know about their elected officials and how do they know it? What does “good governing” look and feel like? How do they feel about voting and why do they feel that way?
Review all the answers and look for commonalities across the groups. Brainstorm different kinds of stories and information you could provide to help them connect more to the process. Experiment. Make something new. Rinse. Repeat.
Media organizations that can truly meet voters where they are — and can help them make an informed decision on the ballot — will not only win the day, but can help to fulfill the promise of a free press in a democratic society.
Kristen Muller is chief content officer of Southern California Public Radio.
Eric Nuzum Beyond the narrative arc
Sally Lehrman Trust comes first
Cristina Wilson The year of the Instagram Story
Helen Havlak Keywords, not publishers, power the world’s biggest feeds
Umbreen Bhatti The trust problem isn’t new
Raju Narisetti Mirror, mirror on the wall
Monique Judge Letting black women tell their own stories
Richard Tofel The platforms’ power demands more reporters’ attention
Alexios Mantzarlis Moving fake news research out of the lab
Vivian Schiller Pivot to tomorrow
Mike Caulfield Refactoring media literacy for the networked age
Renée Kaplan The year of quiet adjustments (shhh)
Ruth Palmer Risks will grow for news subjects — especially minorities
Luke O'Neil The end is already here
Emily Goligoski Looking beyond news for inspiration
Caitlin Thompson Podcasting models mature and diversify
Jassim Ahmad Thriving on change
Rick Berke Value is the watchword
Dan Shanoff You down with OTT? (Yeah, DTC)
Cory Haik Suffering from realness, pivoting to impact
Dannagal G. Young Stop covering politics as a game
Yvonne Leow The rise of video messaging
David Skok Finding an information-life balance
Tracie Powell The muting of underserved voices
Joanne Lipman Journalists inventing revenue streams
Caitria O'Neill The new court of public opinion
Jennifer Coogan The future is female
José Zamora Revenue-first journalism
Errin Haines At the ballot, it’s time to count black women
Niketa Patel Live journalism comes of age
Dheerja Kaur Fun with subscription products
Charo Henríquez Training is an investment, not an expense
Andrew Ramsammy The year ownership mattered
Nikki Usher The year of The Washington Post
Nicholas Quah Stop talking trash about young people
Matt DeRienzo A recession, then a collapse
Doris Truong Computer vision vs. the Internet vigilantes
Alastair Coote The year of self-improvement
Michelle Garcia Navigating journalistic transparency
Ernst-Jan Pfauth Publishing less to give readers more
Alan Soon The rise of start of psychographic, micro-targeted media
Jared Newman Venture funding and digital news don’t mix
Millie Tran and Stine Bauer Dahlberg (Hint: It’s about your brand)
Hossein Derakhshan Television has won
Edward Roussel Eyes, ears, and brains
Mira Lowe The year of the local watchdog
Rodney Benson Better, less read, and less trusted
Jim Moroney Newspapers have to be good enough for readers to pay for
Andrew Haeg The year journalists become relationship builders
Tanzina Vega It’s time for media companies to #PassTheMic
Basile Simon We need better career paths for news nerds
Corey Ford The empire strikes back
Brian Lam Sketchy ethics around product reviews
P. Kim Bui The reckoning is only beginning
Tamar Charney We get serious about algorithms
Matt Carlson Attacks on the press will get worse
Miguel Castro The arrival of the impact producer
Jennifer Choi Standing up for us and for each other
Jesse Holcomb Information disorder, coming to a congressional district near you
Kathleen McElroy Building a news video experience native to mobile
Mariano Blejman News games rule
Zizi Papacharissi Women come back
Mary Walter-Brown Show a little vulnerability
Vanessa K. DeLuca Women’s voices take center stage
Sarah Marshall Loyalty as the key performance indicator
Aron Pilhofer We can’t leave the business to the business side any more
Sam Ford The year of investing in processes
Ray Soto VR reaches the next level
Hannah Cassius The year of the echo-chamber escapists
Mary Meehan Real lives are at stake in rural areas
Steve Grove The midterms are an opportunity
Justin Kosslyn The year journalists become digital security experts
Kawandeep Virdee Zines had it right all along
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen The Snapchat scenario and the risk of more closed platforms
Nicholas Diakopoulos Fortifying social media from automated inauthenticity
Molly de Aguiar Good journalism won’t be enough
Craig Newmark Working together toward sustainable solutions
Mi-Ai Parrish Blockchain and trust
Jarrod Dicker Honesty in advertising
Tanya Cordrey Finally, the seeds of radical reinvention
Will Sommer The year local media gets conservative
Michelle Ferrier The year of the great reckoning
Amie Ferris-Rotman More female reporters abroad (please)
Taylor Lorenz Social and media will split
Amy Webb Listen to weak signals
Rubina Madan Fillion Unlocking the potential of AI
Kyle Ellis Let’s build our way out of this
Feli Sánchez The year for guerrilla user research
Mariana Moura Santos Think local, act global
Pia Frey Address users as individuals
Elizabeth Jensen Show your work
Jim Brady With the people, not just of the people
Gordon Crovitz Serving readers over advertisers
Valérie Bélair-Gagnon Seeking trust in fragmented spaces
Felix Salmon Covering bitcoin while owning bitcoin
Cindy Royal Your journalism curriculum is obsolete
Julia B. Chan Looking for loyalty in all the right places
Francesco Marconi The year of machine-to-machine journalism
Eric Ulken The year local publishers get smart(er) about change
Alice Antheaume Are you fluent in AI?
Kinsey Wilson Facebook and Google: Help out or pay up
Christopher Meighan Passive partnership is in the rearview
Marie Gilot No assholes allowed
Lucas Graves From algorithms to institutions
Damon Krukowski Reviving the alt-weekly soul
Corey Johnson The pro-fact resistance
Mandy Velez texting is lit rn, fam
Tim Carmody Watch out for Spotify
Alfred Hermida Going beyond mobile-first
Lam Thuy Vo Breaking free from the tyranny of the loudest
Federica Cherubini The rise of bridge roles in news organizations
Laura E. Davis Writing answers before you know the question
Manoush Zomorodi Self-help as a publishing strategy
Sam Sanders Shine the light on ourselves
Michael Kuntz The only pivot that might work
Rodney Gibbs Tech workers turn to journalism
Bill Keller A growing turn to philanthropy
Evie Nagy Pivot to mobile video frustration
Heather Bryant Building the ecosystems for collaboration
Trushar Barot The Jio-fication of India
Sara M. Watson Feeds will open up to new user-determined filters
Raney Aronson-Rath Transparency is the antidote to fake news
Matt Boggie The intellectual equivalent of the Dead Sea
Julia Beizer A longer view on the pivot
Pablo Boczkowski The rise of skeptical reading
Amy King Let’s amplify visual voice
Debra Adams Simmons And a woman shall lead them
Matt Thompson Here come the attention managers
Carlos Martínez de la Serna The new journalism commons
Nushin Rashidian Publishers seek ad dollar alternatives
Daniel Trielli The rich get richer, the poor scramble
Carrie Brown-Smith Transparency finally takes off
Jacqui Cheng Retailers move into content
S. Mitra Kalita The arc of news and audience
Sydette Harry Listen to your corner and watch for the hook
Jennifer Brandel and Mónica Guzmán The editorial meeting of the future
Joyce Barnathan It will be harder to bury the news
C.W. Anderson The social media apocalypse
Betsy O'Donovan and Melody Kramer Skepticism and narcissism
Jessica Parker Gilbert Design connects storytelling and strategy
Rachel Schallom Better design helps differentiate opinion and news
Monika Bauerlein The firehose of falsehood
Ståle Grut Reclaiming audience interaction from social networks
AX Mina Memes and visuals come to the fore
Kristen Muller The year of the voter
Pete Brown Push alerts, personalized
Imaeyen Ibanga Longform video leads the way
Kim Fox Audience teams diversify their approach
Andrew Losowsky The year of resilience
Claire Wardle Disinformation gets worse
Susie Banikarim R.I.P. Pivot to Video (2017–2017)
Frédéric Filloux External forces
Juleyka Lantigua Women of color will reclaim and monetize our time
Lanre Akinola Making noise is not a strategy
Jamie Mottram From pageviews to t-shirts
Joanne McNeil Gatekeeping the gatekeepers
Marcela Donini and Thiago Herdy Collaboration is the way forward for Brazilian journalism
Adam Thomas Sharing is caring: The year of the mentor
Emma Carew Grovum Newsroom culture becomes a priority
Borja Echevarría TV goes digital, digital goes TV