Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:00a.m.
It wasn’t exactly a nail-biter, but for 3news.co.nz the Mt Albert by-election was a good example of new media at its best.
Elections sit particularly well on websites – ever since Obama’s victory over Senator McCain last year their importance is certainly at the forefront of politicians’ minds. The ability to host various different forms of media in one convenient portal is invaluable to the average politics junkie.
Throughout this by-election we attempted to make our 3news.co.nz Mt Albert page a focal point for information, stories and opinion.
On the day of the election, users were able to track the votes as they poured in. Had the election been a little closer this would have been a bit like watching a text-based horse race. They were also treated to a web-only broadcast with talent such as Duncan Garner, John Campbell and Linda Clark analysing the results and live crosses to the various candidates' headquarters.
As a website editor, days like these make the job worthwhile. News from the internet is often criticised as being too focussed on the trivial – ta daa! It’s a chicken riding a motorcycle – or too easy to polarise.
By only using the various feeds and sites that suit a person, it is all too easy to create an internet Daily Me; the danger being that people read the news they want to hear and are not kept abreast of vital developments in their community and throughout the world.
The net result – people are extremely well informed about the things they love or agree with, but dangerously ignorant of everything else.
It is online media’s challenge to keep public discourse alive and well as more and more people receive their news in this fashion.
Saturday’s efforts made me confident that we can achieve that.
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Just heard that David Shearer's wife was able to watch her husband's victory on the 3 News live stream from Jordan.