Thursday, October 19, 2006
CNN.com Puts Power of CNN’s Political Team under Users’ Command
Source: CNN Press Release As America nears the 2006 mid-term elections, CNN.com puts its users in control of their election news and information with the multi-faceted “America Votes 2006” special section. Located at www.CNN.com/elections, America Votes 2006 provides an in-depth look at the political arena, featuring on-going political information and news coverage supplemented with polls, maps, user feedback, expert analysis, quizzes, streamed video and podcasts.“Every election cycle allows CNN.com to demonstrate how fast, informative and truly interactive a news site can be,” said Mitch Gelman, senior vice president and executive producer of CNN.com. “We put the power of CNN.com into the hands of our users, allowing them to customize election news and results to suit their personal interests and needs like never before.”
CNN.com’s “America Votes 2006” offers an array of reports and features, including:
· “Midterm Race Analysis” section provides users with Race Ratings, including a map detailing which races are a tossup, advantage Democrat or Republican, or not at stake. Additionally, this section has a “Balance of Power” display enabling users to click through possible scenarios across the congressional and gubernatorial races if Republicans win all of the races considered to be tossups, if Democrats win them all or if they split the races. The section also provides information about the key congressional and gubernatorial races across the country, along with the latest poll results.
· “Issues” section explores the number of issues that will guide campaigns as Democrats seek to gain control of Congress and Republicans strive to hang onto power. CNN picked five that will play a key role in the November elections: Iraq , economy, terrorism, immigration and moral issues. Each has its own page, which includes an overview, key votes in Congress and key dates relating back to the issue at hand. Additionally, CNN.com is asking users to share their thoughts about how these issues will affect their vote in the upcoming election by submitting I-Reports through CNN Exchange, CNN.com’s destination for user generated content.
· “Campaign Headquarters,” the online hub for CNN’s Political Unit, gives users a behind-the-scenes look at stories prepared by the network’s unmatched roster of political correspondents and experts. The section also provides links to numerous blogs, podcasts and the CNN Election Express Yourself tour, CNN’s unique traveling exhibit designed to give the public a hands-on political experience.
· “America Votes 2006 Audio Podcast,” featuring CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley and CNNRadio supervising producer John Lisk, touches on a different topic relevant to the upcoming elections each week. The podcasts are available in the America Votes 2006 special section, at www.CNN.com/podcasting and on iTunes.
· The CNN Political Ticker, a continually updated newswire operated by CNN.com and CNN’s Political Unit. Located at www.CNN.com/ticker, the ticker provides an essential source for breaking political news, the latest poll results and political analysis. In addition to its availability on CNN.com, the CNN Political Ticker is available as an e-mail alert to subscribers twice daily.
“America Votes 2006” culminates on Election Night, Nov. 7, with real-time results available on CNN.com and on CNN Pipeline, the site’s premium live video news service.
# posted by ATN @ 1:50 PM 
