IN a first for any local authority, Clare County Council, together with The Clare Champion, will conduct a full live video broadcast of a local election count.
The Clare Champion and Clare County Council are partnering up to produce this fully programmed live streaming broadcast, ensuring the public are kept up to date on events as they unfold from the count centre.
Counting for the 2019 Local Elections will begin at Treacy’s West County Hotel on Saturday morning and continue into Sunday, after the county goes to the polls on Friday.
Clare Champion editor Peter O’Connell said he is conscious that the way the general public consume news is changing and that, as a media organisation, it is important to adapt to meet that demand.
“The print edition of The Clare Champion will always take priority for us but the way in which people consume media has altered radically and we want to ensure that we are at the forefront of that. This is the first time, to
our knowledge, that a local newspaper has live streamed the local election count,” he said.
Mr O’Connell explained that this endeavour is about keeping the Clare public informed on all aspects of life in the county, with local elections being one of the fundamentals. “Many people would have never attended an election count and this weekend we will give them an insight into what happens and ensure that they are updated via the live stream, our online blog and our social media channels,” he concluded.
Pat Dowling, chief executive of Clare County Council, said the local authority values the role played by the local media in promoting the work of its elected members and of the local authority. “We are delighted to work with The Clare Champion and other media outlets over the course of the weekend, as part of our ongoing efforts to increase
public awareness and appreciation of local government and its elected members,” he said.
He added that the local elections offer the public the opportunity every five years to learn more about their local councillor and the work of Clare County Council, as well as vote for representatives of their respective communities
to sit on the council.
“This is the first time that a local election count has been broadcast in full and we are very much looking forward to working with The Clare Champion in providing the public with a unique insight into an important pillar of local government,” he said.
Video content can be accessed live on www.clarechampion.ie, www.clarecoco.ie and on The Clare Champion Facebook page from 11am on Saturday.
The broadcast will include a full schedule of discussion, keeping the county informed with up-to-date tallies, results, panel discussions and interviews with candidates, capturing the highs and lows of the weekend.
The Clare Champion will be live streaming, blogging and tweeting and to join in the conversation and keep up-to-date, follow the hashtag, #LECLARE19 and log onto www.clarechampion.ie.
Carol Byrne
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.