PMJA Award Submission - The Colin McEnroe Show Special Coverage - 2024 Election

The Colin McEnroe Show
Category: Special Coverage 2024 Election

Throughout the entirety of 2024, The Colin McEnroe Show approached election coverage with an eye to providing context and engaging conversations to listeners through dozens of shows related to the election. Topics included looks at political merchandise, whether presidential debates and VP picks matter, and updates on the latest news in the race. But, in typical fashion, the show also looked at the election through the lens of culture, exploring campaign music, campaign memoirs, and cultural references like Hannibal Lecter (IYKYK) or the candidates' laughters. The show also regularly took listener calls to check-in with the public and see what was on their minds. This culminated in an election day show that featured the voices of voters talking about the experience of voting around the state. Overall, the show’s approach featured important information, but also prioritized joy and art and hope. Here are examples of some of those shows, and what they sounded like:

1. Political merchandise can tell us a lot about an election (January 3, 2024)
2. The first presidential debate is June 27. But will it matter? (June 11, 2024)
3. Veepstakes aside, do running mates matter? (July 3, 2024)
4. Finding hope in dark times (July 19, 2024)
5. Another ho-hum week in the 2024 election (July 22, 2024)
6. ‘SNL,’ Kamala’s laugh, Hannibal Lecter: Culture and the 2024 election (August 16, 2024)
7. From jingles to Beyoncé: How music shapes political campaigns (August 22, 2024)
8. Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat on global authoritarianism and the future of democracy (October 22, 2024)
9. All calls: Election stress, comedy vs. journalism, Declan the Dog … and stuff like that (October 28, 2024)
10. ‘Citizen Observers’ share their voting stories from around the state (November 5, 2024)