If someone has an incorrect assumption about your work, what’s your counter narrative? Where are you on the record about how you operate?
Use our survey to make election coverage more relevant
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Many journalists and newsrooms (rightfully) invest a lot of resources and time into covering elections. But what we often invest far less in: Understanding if that election content is actually helpful and relevant to the communities we aim to serve.
New research from the Pew Research-Knight Initiative finds that while the majority of Americans say being informed about the news is essential to voting (80%), many find the news overwhelming (52%) or irrelevant (48%).
On top of that, almost half of Americans (47%) say they can stay informed even when they are not actively following the news.
If our goal as journalists is to be a public service AND around half of the public is saying news content doesn’t feel helpful or relevant, this should make us deeply concerned — and deeply curious about what we can do differently.
Understanding if we’re succeeding at that takes an investment on our part — asking what our audience needs and listening closely to what they say.
Ask the public what they care about
So, before we set our next election coverage plan, let’s first ask our audience how we can be useful to them. What coverage do they want? What questions do they have? Where do they turn for information? What issues do they care about most?
We’ve developed a survey that can help you:
- Learn which topics and issues your community cares about most
- Gain insight into what questions people have when it comes to election basics
- Understand where they are turning for news and in which formats they prefer to consume news
Take a look at the survey here. If you’re ready to use it yourself, use this link to make a copy. Then customize the top and tailor the questions to best fit yours or your newsroom’s needs.
You can share this survey online, in newsletters, on social media — anywhere you’re in contact with your audience, and especially with topics that relate to elections or civic life. Or, like our partners at ABC10 have done, you can print out some of the questions and hand them out at community spaces and events. (You can read more about their outreach efforts here.)
Can’t swing a survey?
You could ask similar questions on social media or wherever else you engage with users and ask for feedback (in a newsletter, on-air, in person). You could also add one or two of these questions to the end of interviews you have with everyday sources.
Here are some suggested questions:
- What issues matter most to you when thinking about this upcoming election?
- Is there anything you’re confused about when it comes to elections and how they work?
- How can we make election news more useful or relevant to you?
Especially if your newsroom has limited resources, getting input from your community can help you prioritize what type of coverage will have the biggest impact.
Don’t forget transparency!
If people’s feedback helps shape your coverage, be sure to tell them! Remind people you’re focusing on specific stories or approaches because they said it was important to them. (Here’s an example of what that can look like from AL.com.)
More election resources
- Use our Election Trust Kit to earn trust with your election coverage. (It’s also available in Spanish!)
- Copy and use this sample language to explain how you cover election results.
- How to create an FAQ about your elections coverage
- Now is a good time to also revisit the Citizens Agenda approach to election coverage.
At Trusting News, we learn how people decide what news to trust and turn that knowledge into actionable strategies for journalists. We train and empower journalists to take responsibility for demonstrating credibility and actively earning trust through transparency and engagement. Learn more about our work, vision and team. Subscribe to our Trust Tips newsletter. Follow us on Twitter, BlueSky and LinkedIn.
Project manager Mollie Muchna (she/her) has spent the last 10 years working in audience and engagement journalism in local newsrooms across the Southwest. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, where she is also an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona’s School of Journalism. She can be reached at mollie@trustingnews.org and on Twitter @molliemuchna.
