Preview: Traditional and New Media’s Impact on the 2016 Election

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What do Twitter and Snapchat have to do with a century-old print news giant? Well, everything. It’s no secret to SXSW attendees that in today’s digital-first media landscape, traditional news media must adapt or perish. The 2016 presidential election has brought candidates and reporters alike to Snapchat in ever more attempts to engage, inform and interact. Exemplified in a commitment to strong social media engagement, the Los Angeles Times is well aware of the importance of digital storytelling in reporting election news and reaching readers.

To find out more about the effect of digital on the presidential election, I spoke with Christina Bellantoni, Assistant Managing Editor, Politics at the LA Times. Bellantoni sees the shift to digital as an opportunity not only reach more readers, but also to tell more interesting stories. Predictably for SXSW veterans, our discussion quickly veered to the benefits and pitfalls of Snapchat for digital storytelling.

“Social media levels the playing field.”

On Twitter, reporters have the opportunity to make the news come alive in the moment. “They are at the capital, they are standing in a cornfield in Iowa and everyplace in between that the general public can’t be,” Bellantoni said. She contends that showing people politics in action is an important responsibility, and social media levels the playing field.

“The conversation has begun. Don’t get left out of it.”

With Twitter comes shifting roles and priorities in the news cycle. Conversations are happening live on Twitter about events currently happening. If you don’t jump on board and join in those conversations will be over long before you can say “take it to print.” Live blogs that gather and curate live news hosted on latimes.com is one answer to this problem.

On the other side, the 2016 presidential election candidates have quickly realized that they don’t need the press to filter their message anymore. Posting directly to their own social accounts allows them to target voters directly and start their own conversations. Bernie Sanders consistently gains attention during GOP primary debates by putting in his quippy two cents on Twitter and candidates and news agencies alike are exploring the brave new world of Snapchat.

“As journalists, we have to adopt these tools because we are increasingly less and less important to people.”

Bellantoni wants to meet people on the platforms where they already are and remind them that political news is cool, interesting and important. In order to get people more engaged in politics, journalists have to find innovative ways to tell stories. With California’s historically low voter turnout and a general feeling of disconnection from politics, Bellantoni sees an opportunity to tell political stories on new platforms like Snapchat.

For Bellantoni, the draw to Snapchat comes from the natural sense of community it brings with its local stories. Harnessing that feeling, the LA Times Politics desk is using Snapchat to localize national politics. Covering the State of the Union, reporters asked California state delegates how they would grade the president, forcing the delegates to be succinct and frank with their answers.

“Even if it doesn’t translate to any votes, you’re exposing people to something that they wouldn’t have seen before.”

I asked Bellantoni how she thinks the candidates are doing on Snapchat and if they’re talking full advantage of the platform. She sees snap stories around events a valuable opportunity. Candidates get more bang for their buck by getting on the Political stories curated by Snapchat than connecting via their own accounts. If someone goes to follow Ted Cruz on Snapchat, they probably already support him. Spontaneous engagements with a wider audience on curated Snapchat stories are where candidates can gain traction.

When and Where:
Saturday, March 12
12:30PM – 1:30PM
Hilton Austin Downtown  – Salon F/ 500 E 4th St

Find out more: Traditional & New Media’s Impact on 2016 Election

 

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