2022 Midterm Election Team, 2023 nominee
MBN’s coverage of U.S. elections is critical to showing democracy in action. The history, issues, candidates and, of course, the results and what they indicate for the region in terms of U.S. foreign policy are key, even in a process that’s less widely understood than a high-profile presidential election cycle. Because the midterm elections are more nuanced in the ways they affect the balance of power and set the global agenda, they require more perspective, context, and analysis ─ and MBN’s coverage provided all that and more.
In a region where 92 percent of the population lives in countries deemed “not free,” and an additional four percent are in “partially free” countries, * suppressed, restricted, theatrical elections are the norm. For MBN, providing audiences across the Middle East/North Africa region with comprehensive coverage of the U.S. midterm elections is a way to show what free and fair elections look like, and how democracy in America works. The most tightly contested races were profiled, the issues driving voters to the polls were examined, the role of Arab Americans both as a voting block and a source of potential candidates was explored, and the audience learned how this election could impact aid and support for various Arab countries, including Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan.
While the network’s newscasts updated viewers, its online updates underpinned the coverage and connected the audience in meaningful interactive ways. The runup to the midterm election featured appearances by Democratic and Republican strategists and constitutional scholars providing insights and analysis, interviews with voters, and next-generation technology as Alhurra TV and Alhurra.com’s coverage of the midterm elections increased in scope until the culmination on November 8, 2022.
On Election Day and the day after Alhurra’s correspondents reported nationwide from nine states and the District of Columbia, contributing to the network’s more than 30 hours of continuous live coverage. As results were announced, Alhurra used touchscreen technology to inform viewers on the battle for the House and Senate.
*Freedom House’s 2022 Report on Global Freedom