Vote yes or no.
The decision to amend state law is before voters in dozens of states across the United States. The issues cover a wide range: abortion rights, property tax exemptions and legalizing marijuana.
While local television newsrooms have heavily covered the presidential candidates, they’ve also focused a lot of attention on the amendments. In a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, over 30% of those questioned say television news is the most common way that they get political and election news, followed by news websites and apps, then social media. The job of local journalists explaining what’s on the ballot is still important.
And this year, several local TV stations went beyond their traditional approaches.
“There is so much misinformation not only about the candidates but also the entire process,” said Denisha Thomas, news director at WXIA in Atlanta. “We think it’s important to give our viewers the facts so they can make informed decisions while at the polls.”
Reaching new audiences
WXIA produced coverage of Georgia’s ballot amendments for its newscasts and its digital audience.
“For us, there has been so much focus on the presidential race, or for our D.A. race or other local races, but not as much attention has been on these different proposed amendments,” said Kristie Anderson, director of special projects. “We just thought it was a really great educational opportunity to just walk people through it and try to explain it.”
Anderson led the newsroom’s efforts in creating their To The Polls: 11Alive Voter Guide. What’s unique about their approach is the guide includes over a dozen short videos. The production is for a digital audience.
“Our goal is to, number one, put that right in front of you. Make it easy to find what is on your ballot,” said Faith Jessie, a WXIA anchor. “Here’s what all of this stuff means. So you’re not just going in there looking blind, so that you can have an educated and informed decision before you go.”
Jessie anchors the coverage from a green screen, allowing various videos and images to be inserted behind her as she delivers the information. All of the visual elements are graphic-heavy and rely very little on traditional video.
“We talked about what makes things stand out for social media videos and try to play off of that,’” Anderson said.
The “five W’s” approach
The foundation of reporting is to ask questions that include the “five W’s” (Who? What? When? Where? Why? And how?) WPLG-TV, the ABC affiliate in Miami, produced a special program, “Amendments 101”, hosted by reporter Glenna Milberg. The goal: to specifically lay out for voters what their yes or no vote will mean. The content goes beyond just the five W’s and provides context so that audiences can make informed decisions.
”The essential job of news, and local news especially, is to inform people,” Milberg said.
She has covered politics and elections in Florida for decades. She reported on all six of Florida’s amendments. While often worded obscurely, reporters have to explain what the amendments mean and the history behind them.
“If you’re just looking at the question on the ballot, you have no idea why it’s there. What it might do. Who’s behind it? What money is behind it? Whose agenda is behind it? And ultimately is this a choice that I’m going to make that’s going to be good for me and my community?” Milberg said. “And so it’s up to us to figure all that out and serve it up to the viewer in a very understandable way.”
For example, Amendment 2 on the ballot in Florida is the right to fish and hunt.
“There was actually people behind that that requested lawmakers to do that, and actually wrote the amendment. So the background of how the amendments got there and who’s funding them, that’s very instructive.”
In Milberg’s report, she outlined the concerns with Florida’s Amendment 2, including wording that can be confusing or ambiguous like “the use of traditional methods” and “responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife.” She reports that, if passed, the amendment would change the game for fishing and hunting in Florida. And this type of reporting has helped South Florida’s viewers every election cycle.
“I have never gotten as much feedback and gratitude and questions and engagement about any single other thing I’ve ever done,” Milberg said. “It really informs their choice. So I feel like we’ve made a difference. We are making a difference. That’s really all we want to do.”
