Midterm elections coverage overview

Your guide to Annenberg Media's Election Day coverage and where to find it.

Election night in Annenberg Media (Charlotte Pruett)

EDITOR'S NOTE

Happy Election Day! Leading up to the midterm elections, Annenberg Media reporters produced around 60 political stories for TV, radio, web and social media platforms. They dove into heated debates in districts like the 39th and covered how students and community members feel about Proposition 10.

Tonight, around 80 Annenberg Media reporters will continue our coverage live on our Facebook, Twitter, and a local radio station. Our previous coverage is linked below.

— Charlotte Pruett, Executive Editor, Annenberg Media

Broadcasting –

Tonight at 7p.m., Annenberg Media is broadcasting a three-hour-long Facebook Live news show, hosted by anchors of Annenberg TV News, our nightly news broadcast.

The show will host live guests such as Bob Shrum, the director of USC's Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics. and feature eleven midterms-focused broadcast packages, seven live shot teams reporting from local watch parties, live phone calls from leading journalists such as Reuters Political Correspondent Amanda Becker, a student panel with USC student political organizations.

Radio –

Our radio reporters will be doing live hits from the county registrar's office and watch parties for USC's student-run radio station, KXSC.

To hear the election-related coverage radio has done so far, listen to this 30-minute compilation.

Web –

Annenberg Media has done extensive midterms coverage leading up to Nov. 6, much of it focused on California's propositions. Reporters wrote a complete overview of the 11 propositions andhighlighted the three props that may impact USC students most. We spoke to student voters about their thoughts on Prop 6, the proposed gas repeal measure, and explained the history of daylight saving time related to Prop 7. Radio produced a piece on the pros and cons of Prop 12, which seeks to set minimum space requirements for confined farm animals. Reporters covered many angles on Prop 10, the statewide rent control initiative, including a profile on a local resident, an interactive explainer, a story on L.A. City Council's endorsement of the measure, a Prop 10 explainer on ATVN and a piece about how the South LA community feels about the proposition with interviews from a popup newsroom.

A natural editorial focus for Annenberg Media was the youth vote. In Compton, a youth advocacy group is trying to boost student voter turnout. In Norwalk, advocacy group Power California held an event to get students prepared to vote. Advocates and companies are also doing their part to educate and transport voters; NBC Correspondent Gadi Schwartz is speaking at schools around the country to gauge how the youths are approaching politics, politicians gave midterm elections advice to young voters at Politicon and transportation services such as LA Metro, Uber and Lyft are giving free rides to the polls on Election Day.

On campus, many students were talking about political engagement and first-time voters. One reporter broke down the numbers behind USC's reputation of being a politically inactive campus and how student groups are working to combat it. Many international students are feeling isolated during midterm elections because they aren't allowed to vote. VoteSC, a student-run group dedicated to increasing USC students' registrations and voter turnout, streamed on Facebook Live to educate first-time voters. According to Center for American Progress, black women have voted at a higher rate than any other group since 2012. Black women at USC shared why their vote matters. Roberto Suro, a professor at USC's Price and Annenberg schools, answered questions about the role of a journalist during the midterm elections. One reporter also outlined what Californians should watch for in general heading into election night.

Many Annenberg Media reporters also centered their stories around specific races and districts. Senate incumbent Dianne Feinstein is finding support against opponent Kevin de León in unions, activist groups and others. Attorney General Xavier Becerra and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla held a news conference about voters' rights. Two Democratic candidates are battling for the State Assembly position in the 54th District, and first-time voters in the 39th District spoke to Annenberg Media about their opinions on their districts' candidates. Our Interactives team produced a story outlining gubernatorial candidates' views.

Our radio team broke down an FEC report about who is funding political campaigns, and a reporter explained what campaign donations mean, if more money indicates more success and if donations reveal candidates' motivations. The USC Center for the Political Future presented a documentary about voter suppression, and a USC Dornsife and the Los Angeles Times poll found that voters who dislike both major parties could be the deciding factor in the midterms.

Social Media –

During election night, Annenberg Media will be live tweeting updates that are important to USC students on our Twitter account and updating our interactive news app, Annie.

Our social team shared all of our content on multiple social platforms, and we also created multiple native social stories. Here are the three close races in California that you should keep your eye on, and here are five national measures that we find interesting. A reporter produced a social video on the opposing opinions surrounding Prop 6, and we posted an Instagram Story about whether or not Trump's endorsement helped candidates.