It’s election season. As a news outlet, you are obligated to cover both national and local races—it’s an essential part of local reporting. However, it’s important to recognize that everybody else is already covering the election, which can be exhausting for your audience. Election burnout is real! So, how do you keep your coverage balanced and engaging while meeting the demands of a 24/7 election news cycle? Balanced news coverage can feel impossible.

Know your audience

This is always the first step in content selection and creation. You have to understand who you’re speaking to and what they’re interested in. Your local audience needs a specific type of content, for example. Detroit will not care very much about elections happening in Nashville. It’s your job to know the nuances of your area—which issues are important, which candidates they have strong opinions on, and what impacts their lives.

However, this applies to things other than politics. What else is important to your readers? Entertainment? Technology? Travel? If you have a good understanding of their interests, content selection will be much easier.

Stay local!

Every news outlet in the country is covering the national races. We all know what the presidential candidates are doing! Your opportunity lies in covering things that are not already cable news headlines. This is how you can offer unique content while meeting election coverage demands.

The truth is that the election news market is saturated. You don’t need to race national outlets to the next headline story! Here are some ways to avoid getting trapped in the national news cycle:

• Offer insight on how it impacts your city.
• Cover a local town hall or debate.
• Interview your local candidates.

If you already do some of these things, you’re doing great!

The other stuff

News doesn’t stop happening because people are running for office! There are still weather events, local interest, crime stories, and a litany of other things you can choose from! Does the crime beat drive a lot of traffic for you? Don’t stop covering those stories!

This may seem obvious advice, but it is easier said than done. Just because there is more news does not mean there is more time to cover it! Your staff has to make content choices every day, and it can be easy to opt for political content. However, there are many reasons to avoid the onslaught of political content!

• Your audience is not one-dimensional. They crave well-rounded content.
• They need a break! The election coverage can be overwhelming, and sometimes people need a break.
• The health of your content requires variation! What happens after the election? You should have a reliable well of content options from which to pull.

But HOW?

We know it can be overwhelming, but providing balanced news coverage during the election season is not impossible. If you take the time to focus on important local content that doesn’t relate to the election, your audience will be grateful.

If you’re struggling to keep up with the demands of election cycle posting, True Anthem has your back. Reach out today and we’ll set up a personalized demo that can help you find balance in your posting.