These are the moments during an election when the lines are drawn, where you send a message to everyone, friend and foe, and establish your identity going forward. There’s a lot of symbolic value to showings like the Democratic National Convention. But none of that would probably mean much without the right coverage.
The nytimes coverage of the convention is probably one of the most immersive experience a person can get without actually being there, possibly even more so. Every form of media outlet in every conceptualized version is used, pictures, video, graphs, and of course the printed word. On top of the professional coverage from their staff and analysts the nytimes adds another spin by including social media trackers, getting at the moment response from just about anyone across the political spectrum.
All of this can be overwhelming, I know. Knowing where to begin is probably the hardest part, especially during a live event where updates are constant and oncoming. But the nytimes layout makes it all quite manageable if you take it one step at a time. Each feature is broken down into different segments on the home page, article updates at the forefront, with the Caucus Blog right next to it, providing on site thoughts and analysis from the writers. Under that is the video and slide-show segment, allowing non-viewers to either watch or catch up on memorable moments during the convention, and from there a social media tracker, providing feedback from others through twitter by following the trend tags/topics.
It’s really the total package, getting expert insight, live-feeds to form your own opinion, and being able to follow the reactions of everyone else. This type of interface will be the future model for every large-scale event coverage going forward, so long as they keep it organized, the vast quantity of choices to receive your news will be less daunting and more of a great opportunity for every viewer.
