Call me ignorant or maybe just completely over whelmed with midterms, but when we got this assignment I was instantly anxious because I had no idea that the elections were taking place on November 3rd. However much of what I observed on these three sites did not pertain to the content of the elections but rather the set up, and coverage strategies.
The Mass Live election coverage was very thorough and clearly organized. Given the nature and audience of the site, Mass Live provided a local focus on election coverage. The site had a link to each town the Western Mass site targets. On each town page you could find blogs covering basically every issue concerning the towns elections. The first couple pages were links and excerpts to blogs pertaining to the most pressing and controversial issues. Then, as you clicked through the pages you would eventually get to individual blogs for each candidate in this years election. The variety of voice in the blogs provided a variety of angles for coverage. The organization of this site provides a variety of angles, although it is a very clear setup, it forces the audience to make decisions in regards to what is worth reading and what is important.
The Washington Post coverage of the election was very different from Mass Live. The Washington Post covers a national news angle. “The Rundown”, a blog updated daily by Ben Pershing, covered the election though a broader view but in a much more limited voice than Mass Live. The site provides a general overview of the elections and the significance this year. Although this site is only updated once a day and does not link out to various blogs, it was easier to read and does not force the audience to choose which blogs are most important to read. As an ill informed audience member when it comes to the elections, this site made it easier for me to get information fast. Although it may not have been as specifically focused as the Mass Live information, it informed me much more efficiently in that I got a broad overview of the elections in one quick read. Also, the comments are scarce, however they were intelligent and sparked interesting thought. One comment that specifically struck my fancy was the first one made on the November 4th post, the commenter brought up the issue of voting miscount. Coming from someone who could careless about these elections, this miscount topic was much more interesting to me than the local issues.
The New Jersey website coverage was similar in set up to the Mass Live coverage. The page has links to multiple blogs pertaining to issues involving the elections in New Jersey. This site seems like a bit of a mix between the Mass Live and the Washington Post. Although the coverage is not as broad as the Washington post, its not as specific and organized as the Mass Live blog. The comment activity on this blog is much more active than the Washington Post. The localized angle of this coverage provides much more investment in the topic by the audience and inevitably provokes more commentary than the Washington Post. This site was a middle ground between the other two.
There are many angles by which to cover elections and personally I believe when it comes to such open topics, sometimes less is more and quality rules over quantity. The Washington Post worked best for me in terms of accessing elections news, because although it may not have been as thorough as the other two, it is clear and did not force me to choose what is most important to read.
