Today, BBC.com has launched a U.S. election hub at BBC.com/USelection. It opens with an introduction to the Republican candidates along with a few topical analysis posts. It’s a redirect to the BBC.co.uk topic page, so it’s the same coverage that the British audience gets.
As the election gears up, the site’s content will include articles, video series and interactive maps and polls. BBC.com averages 17.4 million unique visitors per month from the U.S., about a third of the site’s global audience. Big news months, such as in May, when Osama bin Laden was killed, drew more than 19 million readers.
BBC North America editor Claudia Milne will run the site. It will feature reporting from Milne’s colleague, Mark Mardell, as well as Katty Kay, anchor of the BBC World News America TV program. That show will be a platform for cross-promotion with the website.
“We don’t expect people to come to the BBC as the first port of call for their coverage,” says Milne, “but we offer a different perspective.” The BBC wants its outside viewpoint and impartiality to balance out the blood sport in U.S. media. “The way the American media are going to cover this election campaign, there will be a lot of heat,” says Milne. “We’re going to shed a little bit of light.”
The BBC isn’t the only British news organization vying for Americans’ attention this election season. In September, The Guardian launched a U.S. homepage, and it’s staffing up a U.S. newsroom.
Visit BBC.com’s U.S. elections page at BBC.com/USelection.
Where do you go for your election news?
