Naomi Owusu, CEO of Tickaroo, urges the media to shift from horse-race journalism to genuine engagement in election coverage. With upcoming elections worldwide, in the following op-ed she stresses the importance of accurate, timely information and audience-focused strategies to rebuild trust and combat disinformation.
2024 is a pivotal year for elections. A record number of voters – almost 49% of the world’s population in more than 64 countries – will cast their ballots, moulding the leadership that will steer them into the future and guide national and international policies. Therefore, information and education on topics pivotal to election outcomes are essential – and the media is a vital conduit.
However, distrust in the media is higher than ever, with almost two-thirds of UK adults saying they do not believe everything they read in the news. This makes engaging audiences increasingly challenging. While most people attribute declining trust to spin or misreporting, disinformation adds to the confusion, as deep fakes and robocalls to manipulate voters are on the rise. This further destabilises consumer trust in what they see and hear and introduces greater complexity for media houses. Impersonations of media houses themselves, such as forged BBC clips claiming Ukrainian arms sales to Hamas, further damage reputation and credibility.
Putting audiences at the heart of the news agenda to rebuild trust
With so much at stake, it is more important than ever for news organisations to ensure that they can deliver timely and factually accurate information to protect the consumer experience and rebuild faith in reporting in this year of global elections. However, with political topics one of the most complex areas to engage in, publishers must embrace strategies that prioritise their audience and place them at the heart of the news agenda; rethinking and enhancing existing methods of political journalism to ensure transparency and authenticity that rebuilds broken trust.
Election coverage must engage audiences on their terms, offering deep insights and analysis on topics voters care about. Two-way conversation and open dialogue should be embraced so that audiences feel heard and recognised. Without this, extracting value from election coverage in the form of boosted readership numbers, repeat visits, or subscriptions will be the losing party.
Harnessing live blogs to meet user needs in an audience-first strategy
Election coverage can be daunting for readers not well-versed in intricate political issues, potentially leading to news avoidance and fatigue. While traditional horse-race journalism retains its importance, meeting the ‘update me’ user need, it also has its constraints, more often reflecting the political status quo and politicians’ agendas rather than the needs of the electorate at large. By adopting an audience-first approach, however, to ensure that publishers meet multiple user needs, it’s possible to capture and retain interest even when it comes to election coverage.
With their easy-to-consume format and real-time nature, live blogs offer a valuable means of meeting the ‘update me’ audience need in developing story coverage. But by harnessing the wider attributes of liveblogging such transparency and interactivity it’s also possible to promote deeper engagement by inviting reader participation to inform story angles. This helps to establish a more informed, trust-based relationship between publishers and their audiences, ensuring an audience-first approach that meets a wider range of user needs.
For example, the way German title Zeit Online used interviews with 49 German citizens in the run-up to the 2021 national elections offers a great example of how to answer the ‘give me perspective’ user need. By harnessing a wide range of electorate voices to build trust and engagement with its audience by sharing interview excerpts, video clips, and imagery, Zeit Online built a picture of citizens’ concerns about their everyday concerns and election issues.
Including user-generated content (UGC), such as reader polls and commenting capabilities, also helps cultivate community and inclusivity in the ‘connect me’ user need instance. Incorporating perspectives from the audience not only empowers them with a sense of social connection but also encourages ongoing engagement with the content.
Stuff New Zealand, for instance, asked its audiences to share their opinions on the government’s handling of the cost-of-living crisis. By highlighting related articles that chime with the ‘educate me’ user need and incorporating polls and commentary options, the publication prolonged reader-site interaction by drawing them into meaningful dialogues that also met ‘connect me’ and ‘keep me engaged’ user needs. Titles such as Spiegel and Stern also use highlighting functionality to draw attention to crucial live updates, implementing visual elements like graphs, charts, and maps to translate abstract concepts into easy-to-understand illustrations.
Live blogs can also be valuable tools in the fight against disinformation for ‘educate me’ user needs. During COVID-19, for example, German public broadcaster MDR used live Q&A sessions with experts to dispel common myths about the pandemic, allowing readers to ask questions in real-time and receive factual answers.
These audience-first strategies centre on fostering trust and credibility, tailoring content to appeal to a broad audience, and weaving in interactive multimedia elements to boost engagement and participation.
A new era of election reporting
With news fatigue and avoidance already prevalent and trust in media at a low point, news outlets need to produce election coverage that prioritises the audience’s needs over those of politicians while also maintaining authenticity and accuracy amidst a campaign likely riddled with deepfakes and misinformation.
Due diligence and fact-checking are indispensable. But to thrive, editorial teams must also innovate their reporting approaches and connect with audiences on their terms. This requires publishers to understand what their audience seeks and offer highly relevant, customised content presented in straightforward formats that encourage genuine interaction. By achieving this, publishers can improve the overall experience for their audience, foster stronger engagement that consistently draws users back, and, eventually, rekindle trust.
Naomi Owusu
CEO and co-Founder of Tickaroo
A leader in news and sports media solutions, Tickaroo (tickaroo.com) develops software and apps that enable organisations to engage with their audiences in real-time and reach their monetisation goals. The live-content software combines professional digital storytelling and live reporting and is used by media houses, event organisers, and professional sports clubs and associations. Clients include Süddeutsche Zeitung, Mediahuis, Der Spiegel, Singapore Mediacorp, and the German, Swiss, and Austrian Press Agencies.
