Nation, Starcom team up with Flow for Election Day coverage
The Nation Publishing Company Limited and Starcom Network, both members of The OCM Group, have joined forces with Flow to provide readers, viewers and listeners with up-to-the-minute coverage of Election Day on Thursday, May 24th.
Barbados’ leading telecommunications provider will facilitate coverage from all 30 constituencies across the island, as well as support live streaming via social media with special emphasis on the Facebook and Instagram pages of both media houses.
“When we were approached we immediately saw the value in a partnership such as this. As the principal telecoms provider in Barbados, we see it as our responsibility and a privilege to help communicate in real time the next wave of democracy in our country,” said Marilyn Sealy, Director of Communications and Stakeholder Management, Flow Barbados.
As part of the agreement, Flow is also providing journalists with mobile handsets for live radio reports and MiFi’s for writers to file stories. The telecoms company will also install dedicated circuits and boost bandwidth at the offices of both the Nation Newspaper and Starcom Network.
“Just like telecommunications, the media play an integral role in a properly functioning society, so we are very pleased to be a part of what is an unprecedented partnership. We believe that synergies such as this forms the basis for increased collaboration that will result in a better experience for all customers, stakeholders and constituents, whether at home or abroad,” added Sealy.
Live coverage on Starcom Network, which will also be streamed live via the company’s Facebook page, will be anchored by veteran journalist David Ellis. He will be joined by a panel of well-known political pundits, social commentators and representatives of all political parties contesting Thursday’s poll.
Starcom Network will also have a roving team that will provide live radio reports throughout the day from different constituencies across the island.
“The partnership we have established with Flow will allow the Nation and Starcom Network to provide the widest and best possible coverage of Election Day. This election cycle in particular we have witnessed first-hand the transition to live, non-traditional forms of media and our arrangement with Flow will ensure that our coverage gets to as many people as possible, instantaneously,” said Eric Smith, Editor-In-Chief, Nation Newspaper.