In an election season teeming with digital partnerships between news organizations and social media platforms, CBSN’s Instagram tie-in still manages to stand out from the crowd. The deal marks the first time the relatively new Stories feature will be used by a network as part of its live coverage.
Launched in August, Instagram Stories allow you to share video and image slideshows that disappear after 24 hours, much like Snapchat Stories. Brands immediately took to Instagram’s version of the feature in a bid to provide even more content to the app’s massive audience.
For its part, CBSN will incorporate Instagram Stories created by its anchors — alongside Stories by voters and experts from across the nation — in its pre-debate and post-debate coverage. CBSN is partnering with real-time audience engagement platform Connect Live to deliver Stories live on air.
Among the CBSN and CBS News correspondents you can expect to see Instagramming the action will be Gayle King, Norah O’Donnell, Nancy Cordes, Vladimir Duthiers, Major Garrett, Reena Ninan, Will Rahn and Bob Schieffer.
“Throughout this campaign, CBSN has highlighted new voices on new screens to bring politics to life, making a partnership with Instagram, which focuses on stories, a natural fit,” said Christy Tanner, senior vice president and general manager of CBS News Digital.
CBSN’s full coverage of the debates kicks off at 7 p.m. ET. The first of three scheduled presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will take place on Monday, September 26. Additionally, the network’s anchor Elaine Quijano will moderate the vice presidential debate on October 4.
Unlike its social media counterparts, Instagram’s short-form video format ultimately means it cannot host actual livestreams of the debates themselves. Partnering with a news network is therefore a great way for the popular photo-sharing app to be part of the action during a series of events that will no doubt dominate the chatter online.
