RealClearPolitics: Winning the Digital Journalism Race
Not long ago I castigated Congressional Quarterly for presenting high-quality reportage on political polling via a blog. They’re missing a great journalistic opportunity–to present daily analysis of the latest state-by-state Obama vs. McCain polls in a way that takes full advantage of the interactive visual medium that is the new platform for journalism.
It’s a classic case of old media not understanding what to do with their great stuff. Failing to “unlock the value” of their work, as they say in the corner offices.
Anyway, I’ve since discovered that such a map–a dataviz, or datavisualization, in web argot–exists. Unsurprisingly, it’s the work of a new media firm unburdened by an analog heritage.
The map is produced by RealClearPolitics, an online-only political analysis operation.
The map is a thing of digital beauty, a tool that lets you dig into good polling data smartly analyzed and interact with it by imagining various scenarios.
What if current polling holds through November? [Results shown above, pre convention “bounce.”]
What if Obama wins Virginia and New Mexico and the rest of the ’04 results are unchanged? [Obama wins by a hair.]
What if McCain sweeps the rust belt of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan? [McCain by a mile, even if he loses Florida, etc.]
You can base all of these scenarios on the latest polling data so you can see how realistic your own speculations are.
It’s great work, a simple dataviz that presents best-of-class information in a fully interactive way that delivers a very high level of public service. It’s “civic engagement” on a screen.
If old media doesn’t start winning this kind or race soon, there will be no doubt who will carry the contest for the media future.
No matter who the President is.
Tags: journalism, politics
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Web 2.Oh. . .really? 
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