I often refer to American politics as my favorite soap opera. There always seems to be endless amounts of drama, and keeping up with every spectacle on Capitol Hill can be tiring. I gave up on TV long ago as a source for my news and have moved to web sources just like everyone else my age, but with the myriad of choices an individual is given, looking for news and trying to stay informed can be overwhelming.
Politico has already been dubbed one of the fastest sources of news on events in Washington D.C. Many times, they acquire stories and announcements before any other publication. From the live stream of presidential speeches to interactive maps during election season and a heavily-updated news cycle, Politico is a great, summative publication for events in D.C. Politico’s Chief White House Correspondent Mike Allen has a distinguished column dubbed “Playbook,” a day-to-day briefing on the events currently driving D.C.’s schedule to set them apart from other news sources. .
To no surprise, when my Campaigns and Election teacher told our class to keep updated on Capitol Hill, the first app I downloaded was Politico. Though I was used to the website format, the transition from desktop to tablet was surprisingly smooth.
Politico’s app is user friendly and easy to navigate. It is very simple to move from article to article, and users are given a large variety of sections to choose from. The drop down menu has more options than its website counterpart and has a choice of whether you want a “briefing” or the full article. Having the choice of either a short summary or the entire report helps readers who want to stay informed but are too busy for entire articles. Another aspect that is app-inclusive is Politico’s use of push notifications. Some may find them annoying, but being sent a quick message when big stories break is exactly what I need.
While Politico story capabilities for the app are stellar, the sharing options are less impressive. The app repeats the headline in your Facebook comments when posting, making sharing repetitive and messy. The app only has sharing capabilities with social media sites Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin when many other news sources have sharing options with almost every top blogging site. While Facebook and Twitter are the essential sites when it comes to sharing news, I’m sure many users would appreciate a Google+ or Tumblr option as well.
Now keeping updated with America’s longest running soap opera is easier than ever. The complicated events on Capitol Hill can easily be reported and briefed from some of D.C.’s fastest reporters. Politico brings breaking news and then gives users a choice on the level of depth they want for their articles. While I don’t think any source should ever be anyone’s only source for news, Politico is an excellent place to start. I give Politico four out of five stars.