The winner featured a clean design, lively writing, and smart reporting in an excellent package.
The New York Times took a new approach to live blogging the 2016 election, using the Slack chatting application to engage its reporters in a fast-paced discussion about live events. Each debate night featured a live chat with several reporters discussing, analyzing and fact checking the candidates in real time. The result was a unique experience that felt like the reader was sitting in on a newsroom discussion during the debate. (You can read more about the behind-the-scenes process in a Nieman Lab article)
Using a distinctive design and tone, The Times created an engaging destination for readers looking to check the assertions made throughout the campaign. Reporters quickly fact checked candidates during debates and live political events and presented their findings in a flexible, conversational summary as if they were speaking directly to the reader.
The Times’ live primary results pages include tables and county maps, demographic breakdowns, live analysis from reporters, and live modeling of the results that show how the remaining vote is likely to affect the outcome. Designed and developed with mobile devices as the first priority, the results pages are able to deliver readers timely and accurate information based on wherever they are. The delegate count shows the aggregate of live results in a clear and accessible format that serves as a guide to the entire primary season. And readers could subscribe to the primary calendar using their preferred calendar service to keep informed of each state’s primary date.
A key mission of The Times’ election coverage is to provide context for any given moment in the cycle. And as general election polls began making news early, The Times collected historical polling for the last nine elections to help readers understand how much weight to give polling at any point in an election year.
The Times’ election coverage provides readers with a timely and comprehensive source for what’s happening now while also serving as a unique guide to the overall story.a unique guide to the overall story.
