Media in elections

By: Shauna Agan

With the Election Day tomorrow, the media is about to have their biggest day of the year. No matter who wins the election, it is big news.

This is nothing new, though. Elections are always like this. However, the media is finding new ways to get the message out to the public.

Online, voters can watch the election state by state and literally see the results the second they come in. One place to view the elections is on msnbc.com.

Another way for voters to see election results is to get them send directly to their cell phone. Many media outlets are offering this opportunity, but one example in Iowa is a newspaper out of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, The Gazette, sending out text alerts.

If all else fails, results will be scrolling at the bottom of the screen of every major news station out there, and even some stations that aren’t news stations.

With technology and more media coverage, it is really easy for individuals to become informed about election results. A century ago, individuals would not find out results until they heard it from word of mouth or from the newspapers the next day.

Today, people can track every minor change throughout the night. This is not just limited to the presidential election, but it extends to congressional and senate races as well.

Who would have thought that technology in the media would come this far? Who knows what the future of media will be when it comes to elections!

The media is doing a great job of finding new ways to get information out to the constituents.