CNN and local partners WMUR and New Hampshire Union Leader are holding a Republican presidential primary debate on Monday, and CNN is pulling out the social stops to let “voters play a starring role.”
During the debate, users will be able to pose questions on moderator John King’s Facebook page, Twitter using the hashtag #CNNdebate, and on CNNPolitics.com. CNN is handing out dial-testers to a group of New Hampshire voters, and their real-time reactions will appear next to the live stream on CNN.com. The debate will also stream on WMUR.com and CNN’s mobile and iPad apps.
At the beginning at the debate, CNN will display a scannable QR code on the screen. “Viewers with smartphones will be able to scan the QR code to access exclusive content on CNN.com including a column penned by Wolf Blitzer, a quick vote poll and a behind-the-scenes photo gallery,” CNN explains.
QR codes are increasingly appearing on air (here’s our earlier story on it), but this is the first time we’ve seen it planned for a national news event. By the way, that QR code above, which you can generate via Bit.ly for any link, goes to CNN’s blog post about the upcoming debate. It will air live from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET on Monday.
Update: Here’s a screen grab of the QR code from the debate:
