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COUV.COM, an issue-based, community storyteller tumbled through its first eight months of business and leapt full force into the 2011 Clark County election coverage. As a newbie to the marketplace, it created some innovative concepts, grabbed at the brass ring, and surprisingly, in the final four weeks before the election, secured 22 candidates seeking local and state office to come into the studio to be interviewed.
Candidates were questioned, recorded, formatted, edited, and their video interviews announced and posted on the site. Next, DVD’s of all the interviews were hand carried to FVTV11 to be shared on public access television. The team crafted community videos, including one to encourage people to vote, attended meetings, read documents like the FEIS, and chased people for quotes.
In between those pursuits, COUV.COM sponsored an event that brought in national transportation experts and local professionals who shared information about building a bridge. The first 100 attendees received a button that read, “More bridges, COUV.COM.”
An astounding feat for the small staff that you can count on one hand, plus a thumb, and a message we want to carry forward. We’d like to build bridges of information, bridges of communication, and bridges that bring the community together for a lively debate.
The results of yesterday’s election shows that COUV.COM’s efforts to bring in candidates and give them unrestricted time to share their thoughts may or may not have made a difference in the races around the county and the state, but the ensuing debate was animated, at times passionate, and for a moment or two it was also silent.
Carol Doane, GM COUV.COM
The bridge from here to tomorrow stands before us. Or rather, the bridges, because there are many directions we could head. The next steps we take will be based on the connections made, the lessons learned, the opportunities gained.
At the start of the campaign season I made one prediction. It was simple and I think I got it right. I said, “It will not be boring.”
I think the same could be said for COUV.COM’s future.
For more coverage on the election and results, go to
http://couv.com/issues/elections.
