News24 hits record numbers for election results coverage

2011-05-30 15:23

South Africa's largest digital news brand, News24, had their biggest day yet on the 19 May due to their coverage of the local government election results. Online their numbers were up 100%, while on mobile the increase was a staggering 150%.

Says Jannie Momberg, Editor of News24 on why he thinks the response was so positive, "People have a vested interest in what goes on around them, and what will affect their daily lives. And the more informed they are, the more likely people are to speak up." Plus, of course, the coverage had innovative elements like an interactive election results map, which Momberg believes was the most talked about feature of their coverage.

News24's focus for the election was 3-fold: general news, results and social media and while the map was very popular, general news and social media both played a vital role in informing their audiences.

So is social media part of the strategy to retain these new users? "Obviously one always tries to attract new and varied users, and using social media is a very effective way to do so, " says Momberg. "Having said that though, we will keep doing our best to get the news out as quickly and accurately as possible. It is a winning formula that keeps bringing users back," he adds.