How pan-European news organisations are approaching EU election coverage

2024 is the biggest election year in world history, meaning that news outlets are intensifying their political coverage. Ahead of the EU elections from June 6th to June 9th, The Fix has spoken to two European news organisations, The European Correspondent and Voxeurop, to look at how they cover this major event, and how this fits with their long term strategy. 

Launched in 2022, The European Correspondent is a curated newsletter that covers the big societal challenges, political shifts, and ideas across the continent, using a network of over 140 local correspondents that share the best stories from their country. Ultimately, the goal is to foster the emergence of European journalism and a public opinion. 

When it comes to the coverage of the European elections, Julius Fintelmann, the co-founder and editorial director of The European Correspondent, is not in doubt: ”The European elections are super important. Not so much because the elections matter, but more because there's a European momentum. People care about Europe again.” 

To engage its readers, the strategy The European Correspondent pursues is simple: Answering all the questions the audience might have, using explainers on topics ranging from how the elections even work to more elaborate pieces on the far-right's success and the status of the Green Deal: “We don't take a Brussels-focused perspective, where we'd follow the campaign trail, but we focus on the big questions relevant to European citizens. [...] In essence, we try to break through the gist of Brussels and make it tangible to everyday Europeans.”

This strategy requires a time investment from the niche media, meaning that two team members, the European Affairs leading editor and Julius Fintelmann, work on the election coverage every week. This work represents a total amount of at least 25 hours a week, while local correspondents can be involved whenever necessary. 

So far, this approach seems to be bearing fruits: “We see that our audience is sending us quite a few questions they have about the elections that they don't find answers to anywhere else. [...] We capitalise on that through community engagement campaigns, hoping to build our community and grow our overall audience”, comments Julius Fintelmann. 

In that sense, the EU elections is a relevant platform for The European Correspondent to build upon its foundation to expand further the reader base. Regardless of the results, covering EU affairs will remain at the core of its DNA. 

Launched in 2014, Voxeurop is the first media outlet to be managed by a European cooperative society, and is owned by shareholders in 23 countries. Using journalists and sources from over 30 countries, the web media provides coverage on transnational subjects, which is translated into the main European languages, to reflect the full diversity of outlooks, and to reach as many people as possible.

With this editorial line, the EU election is also a high season for Voxeurop, even if the focus is not on decision-makers in Brussels and Strasbourg. According to Paul Salvanès, CEO & publisher, “it is an important event because it is continental and because European political decisions have an impact on our main themes: climate change, democracy and freedoms, asylum and migration, and equality”.  

Besides, 2024 does not only mark the EU elections, but also Voxeurop’s 10 year anniversary. That is why Voxeurop uses this opportunity to expand its readership, as Paul Salvanès points out: “We are taking advantage of this period to launch a major subscription campaign, during which we have reviewed our editorial offerings, developed our site and produced dedicated videos”. 

When it comes to the coverage of the election in and of itself, Voxeurop opted for several editorial series. As part of the Voices of Europe project for instance, which has got a lot of interest, 27 major national media have been brought together, and each one of them publishes an article on the main issues at stake in the EU elections in its country. Each participating partner can reprint as many articles as it likes from the other 26, while Voxeurop publishes all the articles in 5 languages (French, English, Italian, German and Spanish). 

This large scope of coverage has been the main focus for most of the editorial team, which has been working on the EU elections for the past month, and will continue to do so until mid-June. However, it is still too early to evaluate whether there has been more interest from Voxeurop’s audience for this election special.

Launched in 1992, Arte is the media that is the closest to a European public service channel. Available in 6 languages (French, German, English, Spanish, Italian and Polish), it offers a broad range of programs, 2,700 in total, with a strong focus on culture. On top of broadcasting 24/7 since 2005, Arte has its own streaming service, Arte.tv, which had over 2 billion views in 2022, and is on its way to Europe's leading free audiovisual platform.

Ahead of the European elections, Arte’s coverage is a statement in and of itself: From April to June, special evening programs, reports and documentaries will shed light on the issues at stake, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to climate change and social issues. 

According to Arte’s own press kit, the young generations are one of the main target groups of the channel’s extensive coverage of the EU elections, with contributions from Arte Junior and even a live twitch with a streamer specialised in politics. (Arte did not respond to The Fix’s requests for an interview). 

The European elections represent the ideal opportunity for media with a strong European identity to profile themselves, regardless of their profile. Even though the media we looked at use different formats, they tend to pursue similar goals: Expanding their user base to build a community and monetise their coverage.

Source of the cover photo: Christian Lue via Unsplash