Newhouse students will spend Election Day reporting live from polling places as part of the Democracy in Action (DIA) project, now in its 11th year.
Students in the broadcast and digital journalism; magazine, news and digital journalism; and photography programs will file stories on the DIA website and provide voter-focused election news, reporting on the human element of the election—from polling place workers to first-time voters.
Students will cover Election Day activities in Onondaga County as well as counties across the U.S., with contributions from students who are studying remotely this semester. The website will include a section titled “Beyond CNY,” featuring stories from locations such as Florida and California.
Reporters will head out early Tuesday morning and provide live election reporting throughout the day.
What makes Election Day stories different from the typical reporting work Newhouse students do is that when the students go out into the field, they have no idea what their stories are going to be about, says broadcast and digital journalism chair Chris Tuohey.
“Usually, we stress the importance of preparation,” says Tuohey. “In DIA, the students only know what polling place they are going to and what time they are going there. In many cases they are scared to death they may not come up with a story. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time, they do.”
Follow the students’ Election Day reporting by visiting dia-cny.syr.edu Nov. 3, and follow on Twitter at @DemocracyAction and #nhdia.
Adrianne Morales is a senior in the broadcast and digital journalism program at the Newhouse School.