For election night 2014, we wanted to do something different.
We guessed that the dedicated wonks — the ones who want to drill down into detailed data and maps — would probably go to sources like the New York Times or Washington Post. Rather than reproduce that work, what could NPR do that would be unique, and would serve a broader audience?
To start, we had our organization’s thoughtful reporting and on-air coverage — a live event we could build something around. We had the results “big boards” we make every election year for the hosts in the studio (and shared publicly in 2012 — a surprise success). We had a devoted audience.
So we decided to throw a party — and put radio on TV.
It’s an experiment in creating a (mostly) passive experience, meant to be put up on your TV and listened to — and occasionally watched.
It’s designed to work on your Chromecast, and we found that people who used it on Chromecast or in fullscreen mode stuck around a lot longer. Since the election, we’ve implemented many of the things we learned in our other projects.
