Election Coverage

Election 2008: A Nod to "Old" Media

Perry Michael Simon, Editor at All Access News-Talk-Sports

A piece by Perry Michael Simon, Editor at All Access News-Talk-Sports, flies in the face of all that we hear about the importance of new media. Arguably the most important news story of the year and most people got the news by....television. We encourage you to comment on the piece - how did you hear the results of the election?

An International Perspective on the Presidential Election

What do Germans think of presidential candidate Barack Obama? Hear from Karsten Voigt, coordinator of German-American Cooperation at the Federal Foreign Office.

Prepare Now to Avoid Election Day Problems

Kathleen Kirby, RTNDA Counsel

As you plan to cover Election Day at polling places throughout your community, familiarize yourself with state law regulating media access to the polls and formulate a plan of action should officials attempt to unlawfully restrict the activities of your reporters and producers.

Tales from the Trail

We caught up with Randy Shandobil, KTVU, Political Editor in San Francisco, John Fortney, WBNS-TV, Anchor/Reporter in Columbus, OH and Cullen Browder, WRAL-TV, Anchor/Reporter in Raleigh, NC and Stuart Watson, WCNC-TV, Investigative Reporter, Charlotte, NC. They shared their thoughts on the race, the campaigns, what's going on in their respective regions and even gave us some predictions.

Cover the Election from the Youth Angle

Are you are looking for a unique, fresh approach to covering the 2008 election? Want your station to be able to announce the 44th president of the United States five days ahead of the general election vote count? Tell the story through the eyes of today’s children. Inform your viewers about the National Student Mock Election on October 30 and report the results and opinions of the young voices about the election.

Election Coverage and Equal Time

Do you have questions about when equal time requirements effect your newscast? RTNDA has the answers.

Communicator Archive Resources

RTNDA Resources

Journalists Talk Election Coverage in Event Co-Hosted by RTNDA

CNN's John King moderated the roundtable at the National Press Club in Washington, an event designed to be the kind of candid conversation you might overhear if we were all on the [campaign] bus together. Photo courtesy Jeff Isaacs/AP

Add A Little Sunshine to Election 2008

From the coalition that brings you Sunshine Week each March, new efforts to make open government a campaign issue. Originally published in the November 2007 issue of Communicator.

The Union of Politics and Broadcast Celebrates 75 years

Museum inducts FDR to National Radio Hall of Fame and unveils all-time top 100 political moments on radio and TV. Originally published in the July/August 2007 issue of Communicator.




The Spin Cycle

WMUR-TV takes its web technology for a ride during the presidential debates to engage and inform viewers and voters.Originally published in the July/August 2007 issue of Communicator.

Campaign Coverage Reform

The 2004 election year is already gathering steam. Is your station prepared? Originally published in the November 2003 issue of Communicator.

Newsroom Resources

Check RTNDA for election resources, political events, and interactive toys and tools.

Advice From Political Reporters

America’s huge collective appetite has been making headlines lately, but food isn’t the only thing we like to supersize: With three round-the- clock cable news channels, a surfeit of pundits holding court on the mainstream networks, and millions of drive time listeners tuning in to talk radio, we have become a nation of media savvy news junkies with a seemingly insatiable addiction to politics.

All Politics Are Local

The election frenzy is well under way. Are you giving your viewers and listeners the local angles on the national issues they need to vote intelligently? No excuses: here are more than 110 ideas to recharge your local coverage.