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Visualize Data with Politico
Nov 10th
Shellacking, Slaughter, Tsunami. No matter how news organizations characterized the midterm-election results, it was a golden opportunity for the media to use data visualization in their reporting. With the massive amount of data from so many national elections happening across all 50 states, political junkies needed a visual narrative and Politico delivered.
Politico used interactive maps (link to election maps) to consolidate the enormous wave of information being reported last Tuesday evening. Using blue and red to denote Democrats and Republicans, respectively, the color coded maps let readers instantly understand the winners and losers. No text was needed.
One interchangeable map was used efficiently. It changed with only a few clicks. Readers saw one map and could select one of three categories: Senate, House or Governor races. There was no going from place to place on Politico’s site. One click on the HOUSE category, then on a particular state, a pop up window with the names of the House candidates vying for office in a particular district (or in the case of Senators/Governors in that state). Also, within in that window was the number of votes each candidate received and by what percentage.
Then, Politico took the visual further by offering readers historic information. An arrow on the up right side of the map with different election years, allowed people to not only see the results from 2010, but move the arrow to another year and see previous election cycles in terms of red and blue states. Below is an example of Nebraska in the 2006 Senate race.
So after a comparison of 2010 Senate races, the viewer could then move the arrow back to look at 2008 or 2004 and see which states were blue and then which were red. The information covered a ten year period of election results. In his 10000words.net blog posted on November 2, Mark S. Luckie, highlighted Politico-ranking it number nine out of 11- as one of the news organization that used “. . . their political coverage is showcased in a way doesn’t feel crammed or overwhelming.” (Read Luckie\’s post from election night).
When dealing with numbers, eyes can glaze over, and listeners and viewers can tune out. But Politico used data visualization in a cohesive way to illustrate the big picture of the change in the political landscape, at least for the next two years. The maps were easy to read and in the age of eyes just scanning the page, Politico won the night.
Politico missing in action or M.I.A. on crowdsourcing
Nov 2nd
Politico is missing in action when it comes to crowdsourcing. Or maybe it just hates crowds. Either way, Politico is M.I.A. on the issue. I could not find one example of a crowdsourced project for the political news organization. With the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, Politico missed a huge branding opportunity to get the crowd involved. Perhaps it was the memo NPR sent out to its staffers that made Politico skittish on using this event as a crowdsourcing project. Also, it could be that job was outsourced to its sister site, TBD.com, part of Allbritton Communications (story from editorsweblog.org tbd_uses_map-based_crowdsourcing_to_char.php ).
After all, that is what crowdsourcing is about, outsourcing your newsgathering to the “crowd” like an open call.
I checked and re-checked and I must be missing the place where to look on any general crowdsourcing projects it has done. Saturday’s rally by Comedy Central would have been ideal for Politico to initiate such a project. The timing was short, from 12noon to 3pm, so the duration for collecting data would not be for days on end. The information could have been turned into story from the audience or a quasi-poll. Questions could have been, your estimate of the crowd, or best sign, best musical performance and best political speech by a speaker and then categorized for the online audience.
With crowds estimated at over 200,000; this would have been a great way to examine what people were saying from one end to the other of The Mall. Perhaps the reasons for not using this particular venue had some disadvantages which we discussed in class: bias, yes, many people attending had political leanings to the left than to the right; newsworthiness, some in the crowd thought this rally was led by “real” news anchors -Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert; and finally, the issue of manipulation, individuals in the crowd might seek to influence projects to their own ends. Numerous examples fit this last issue: I saw several signs carried by men that read, “I am only here to meet women.”
What Politico did do for the rally was a minute by minute twitter feed with links to its own story, a live blog of the event, and the highs and lows story by Politico Click stewart_rally_highs_and_lows.html. But this is not the same as incorporating citizen journalism into an event; especially one of this size and with so many eyewitnesses. It would have been a great way to counter anyone including political pundits who did not attend but pontificated on what happened at such a large venue. The website does have a link for community, across the tool bar. People can comment on stories, a form of crowd sourcing on political discourse. But this is not a project.
I do see that TBD.com is asking the community to report and help the news organization map any voting trouble for Tuesday. Instructions are clear for the participants help-tbd-map-voting-problems-tuesday-4003.html . Perhaps Politico will piggy-back on this story in some way. As for the rally, a missed opportunity for Politico to actively engage its readership and the “Faces in the Crowd.”
Social Media and Journalism, the changing rules
Oct 22nd
As with any medium that delivers news, social media has been the biggest game changer by far in journalism. Last week in class, we learned that the strategy of using social networks for news organizations is constantly changing. The rules of the game are fluid and right now raising more questions than answers.
Citizen journalism -is it legally actionable? That was the question raised by Linda Feldmann of the Christian Science Monitor when discussing one of the problems social media has had on the industry. She was part of a panel at the National Press Club Wednesday evening entitled,”Social Media & Journalism.”Also on the dais, C-Span’s Communications Director, Howard Mortman, Politico’s Patrick Gavin, and Joseph Campbell, former print reporter and now professor at American University. Mark Hamrick with Associated Press served as moderator.
Gavin, who covers the lighthearted stuff at Politico, said in new media, old media rules apply because there is room for errors. Fact checking is still important. He offered a warning about bad tweets, “If you get something wrong, then every piece of reporting becomes suspect. It allows spin meisters to be even more powerful.” And he adds, “With the need for speed, reporters need to be really careful with the information.”
But he also said, “Double sourcing is going away.” For him, Twitter is the hot thing and tweeting pushes you to step up your game, “You also write to impress your competition.”
The issue of speed has Feldmann, who is CSM’s White House reporter, questioning the new fast and furious filing ‘news model’ of journalism. She worries about the impact of filing on demand will have on maintaining standards. With readers clicking and skimming, what impact will this have on standards?
The fast and furious model is not new, said Campbell. He pointed out during the heyday of Hearst and Pulitzer fighting it out; speed was critical with multiple editions daily.
Audience member, Rick Dunham, the editor of Texas on the Potomac, the Houston Chronicle’s Washington, D.C.-based blog txpotomac, offered up a previous conversation he had with Gavin a year ago about Twitter. “A year ago, we were wondering if seven tweets a day were too many. Now, it’s a different environment in just one year,” said Dunham. Today, it depends on your community, said Gavin.
Another question they discussed a year ago and still worth asking, is tweeting self-pimping?
“Everyone self promotes, everyone tweets more than they should and everyone cross tweets about personal and work,” said Gavin. He suggested you follow good practices, “Try not to be a jerk and don’t embarrass your employer.”
I could not stay until the end so I missed the Politico’s scribe’s exchange with Helen Thomas about Twitter but here is the link to the Politico story thomas_ill_think_about_tweeting.html.
C-Span’s Mortman explained how his news outlet uses social media. The success of Washington Journal rest on callers with 60 calls per show. Now questions are taken via Twitter, not just phone. On its Facebook page ( CSPAN) not only will it post its schedule but also the question from the show to encourage further discussion. Recently, it has teamed up with Four Square to provide educational and landmark information about the Nation’s Capital. Tourists are big users. As for his personal Twitter account, Mortman sticks to tweeting about his favorite TV shows, like Mad Men.
The days of traditional journalism jobs are gone. Twitter, Facebook and blogging are now a daily part of the day. There is more to read and more to do to keep up with your job and the competition from inside and outside our ranks. The rules of the game continue to evolve. Six months from now, what will be different?
My dinner with Politico’s Facebook
Oct 20th
Recently, reports have surfaced that Steve Jobs of Apple and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook had dinner to discuss ping. I’m sure their conversation was more interesting than my dinner in front of the computer digesting my evening meal and Politico’s Facebook pages. In the end, I got indigestion. It appears that Politico has NOT taken full advantage of Facebook and all it has to offer. I was surprised and disappointed that such a savvy news organization has not utilize this tool.
I first started out by doing a Google search for Politico’s Facebook page. At the top of the search was Politico, the Official Group ( group.php?gid=6977265898). But upon closer examination, I was sure this was not the official page. The logo was a cartoon and the postings were full of diet ads and get-rich-quick schemes. Definitely not official.
Then I went to Politico’s website and at the bottom of my screen was a pop up bar that said to become a member of Politico’s Facebook, click here. So I did. I found the correct page (politico)and herein is what I found.
The newsfeed listed a story about House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and her last major speech with familiar themes. The story sat on its Facebook page for two hours before another story appeared. It gathered 38 comments. Not a great headline. Later in the day on Monday, the headlines got better. A sampling: “Republicans put 99 Democratic held seats in danger.” Good one because many political pundits are saying Republicans will likely win 50 to 60 seats in the House. The eye-popping number stands out.
Republicans put 99 Democrat-held House seats in danger
Another one was, “Alexi Giannoulias to Mark Kirk: ‘Were you shot at?’, ” again I clicked. One more: “Christine O’Donnell questions separation of church, state.” But a huge missed opportunity to engage Politico fans. Where was a quiz question on the Constitution or a poll on House seats up for grabs?
Next, I clicked on Politico’s Click Facebook page. There is no link from one to the other on the front. The following news on Click: Fashion, whistleblowers and peace, posted 8 hours ago; Jill Biden opens up about service in Self Magazine, posted 8 hours ago; Bob Schieffer gets roasted, posted 8 hours ago. You get the picture, dumping news into the site. While, the information was good, I wonder how fresh it was. Another missed opportunity.
My next move was to find the Facebook page of the various reporters such as Mike Allen and others. I could not find individual Facebook fan pages for Politico’s reporters. No links to a personalized reading list. Also, no quizzes, no feedback, no questions like Nicholas Kristof’s Facebook. Clearly, the fans of Politico want to engage in political discourse, but there is a lack of engagement.
There was also no photos of the different reporters on Facebook. The photo section did have drawings from its cartoonist, Matt Wuerker.
Why not let people vote on best cartoon of the week?
I thought by going to Politico’s Facebook page, I would get a tasty morsel about politics but it was just your basic hamburger on the information turnpike.
Being a Follower of Patrick Gavin
Oct 13th
My mother always told me not to be a follower. She would tell my siblings and me, “If all you friends jumped off a bridge, would you follow them?” I agree with her, why be a follower? This is the question I have been asking myself, why follow Patrick Gavin of Politico on twitter (pwgavin) if it was not part of my homework assignment?
His beats are entertainment and gossip for the political website (bio on Mr. Gavin) and so far, I feel I must be missing something. I do not find his tweets all that entertaining. True, I have only been a follower for a few days so perhaps I am making a hasty judgment. After all, he does have 6,487 followers. Me? Nada, zilich, nobody.
Take one of his post from this past Tuesday, a tweet about entertainer, Jay-Z, and his new PSA about voting with a link to Gavin’s own story on Politico’s Click website. The link to his own story, is a brand builder, I understand that and would do the same. (screen shot insert)
It was interesting but on this particular day, there was bigger news happening inside the Beltway, right at the White House. Movie star, George Clooney, had a meeting with President Barack Obama. Yes, the session was on a very serious, topic, the violence in Sudan. Clooney was seeking help from the President. Gavin’s number of tweets on the star: nothing, not even a Retweet of a picture from one of colleagues from the stake out location where the actor gave a press conference following his White House meeting. Maybe I don’t understand the parameters of this beat but I would imagine that any entertainment figure in town would at least be acknowledge by the beat reporter in some fashion.
Many of Patrick Gavin’s tweets comprised of links to his story on the web or Retweets of colleagues’ stories. One R-T from Mark Knoller was actually a picture of the swing set used by the Obama girls, the same day Clooney was speaking to Obama. Still, I did like the tweet with the Washingtonian Magazine article about the music scene in the D.C. area. I saw this as way for Gavin to connect to his readers. But with so many followers, will they all be interested in D.C’s music? Another tweet was the list of people attending Quinn Bradlee’s wedding. That is the kind of fun information I would want from a reporter following this beat.
And why was he in Las Vegas, sending a twitpix of Pete Rose? Perhaps if I had been followwing Gavin longer, I would know. I see little interaction with his audience. I expected more, something juicy from Politico’s Gavin. I picked Gavin because I was having problems adding anyone to my list and finally got the add list to work. His name was at the top of the Politico lists and he does have many followers but I will not be one of them.
Tea Party becomes Gaga over Primary wins, but Politico lags in search engine race for coverage
Sep 24th
As interior decorators wait by their smart phones for a message from House Republican John Boehner of Ohio on when to come over and measure the U.S. Speaker’s office for his new drapes; some Senate Republicans are less than gaga over the political primary wins scored by candidates backed by the Tea Party Movement.
In particular, Christine O’Donnell, a favorite of the Movement who unexpectedly captured the Delaware Republican Senate Primary, was covered extensively by all media outlets including Politico, www.politico.com.
But if you were searching for news on the Sarah Palin wannabe following
O’Donnell’s win, Politico’s stories on her were not at the top of Google during my search using keyword technique discussed in class.
Just over three years old, the Internet media site with its limited hard copy distribution has become a daily read for many political junkies. The Politico Web site is bright with red and blue colors, insightful news stories and smart bloggers. Videos and pictures add to the plethora of timely government related stories on politics, money and general news.
The company may consider dropping some of the inside the Beltway references to take advantage of the statistical media measurement for the Internet called search engine optimization or SEO. I’ll use two examples to illustrate my point. One, the company’s site uses last names in its headlines as well as acronyms or abbreviations such as W.H., instead of White House. This is a drawback for anyone searching the actual word which is how Google, Yahoo and Bing use SEO. Second, some of the blogs are organized by categories but often will have one word such as Palin in the headline. Yes, having her last name at the top may work in most search engine situations, but there is no guarantee Politico’s fresh post will be displayed first using one name.
There appears to be a lack of love between Google and Politico when it comes to keyword searches to put Politico’s stories at the top. Competitors, Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com, and the Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com and even the candidates’ own sites rose to the top when I did my searches following the recent September primary coverage. But then maybe it is the way I do a search.