UC students gain field experience covering historic election
A&S journalism program teams students with Cincinnati Enquirer
By Rebecca Schweitzer
On Nov. 3, millions of Americans lined up to cast their votes in a presidential election which would set records for highest voter turnout amid a pandemic and intense political polarization.
Journalism students from the University of Cincinnati's College of Arts and Sciences had the opportunity to be part of that history, working as correspondents for The Cincinnati Enquirer by covering polls on election day in Hamilton County.
But the work started prior to election day. Three teams of students from a News Collaborative class conducted virtual interviews with election officials in suburban Warren, Butler and Clermont counties and shared their reporting with the Enquirer for its pre-election coverage.
This was the third presidential election that UC students have covered for the newspaper.
UC journalism major Allison Kiehl participated in election-day coverage with The Cincinnati Enquirer.
First-year journalism major Allison Kiehl got her first real-world experience in journalism.
“It was great to gain such valuable real-world experience as a journalist, especially so early on in my college career,” Kiehl says. “Everyone I interacted with from the Enquirer was very helpful and supportive, and I would love to work with them again in the future.”
Mark Wert, investigations and enterprise editor for the Enquirer, says he has found the student collaboration to be helpful.
“With hundreds of polling locations in Hamilton County alone, we don’t have enough staff to do even spot checks without outside help,” Wert says. “In addition to checking on problems with voting, the Election Day correspondents also help us ask an essential question: why did people vote for their candidates? The vote totals give us the 'who,' but the 'why' is more important and harder to discern.”
Real-world experience in the field
UC associate professor of journalism Bob Jonason said the students covered a portentous time in American history.
“It's a great story to showcase the kind of on-the-ground experience that A&S gives our journalism students. It's also interesting from the standpoint of the extreme polarization of the electorate this year, and COVID's impact on how they could cover the election.”
For the Election Day assignment, students were split into groups and assigned to polling places to monitor the locations and interview voters, as well as tweet using the hashtag #vote2020enq. They also interviewed voters, took photos and videos and watched for excessive lines, machine malfunctions or voter intimidation.
For pre-election coverage, students virtually interviewed Board of Elections directors in designated counties – Butler, Warren and Hamilton – and contributed their reporting to special election coverage in the Enquirer. That reporting contributed to two newspaper stories prior to Election Day: "What will Election Day look like at polls? Lots of sanitizing and be prepared to wait" and "Ohio election: Voters waiting three to four hours in Clermont County."
UC journalism major Zachary Jarrell participated in election-day coverage.
Second-year journalism major Zachary Jarrell has internship experience, but says the Enquirer was the largest media organization that he has had the opportunity to work for, and that he learned a lot from the experience.
“My experience was great,” he says. “I want to cover politics in the future. To get a chance to cover maybe the most important election of our lifetime was invaluable. Covering part of history for the Enquirer was a privilege!”
For her part, Kiehl says she learned more about interviewing techniques and interacting with the public.
Learning how to interact with voters and the public "is a very valuable skill that I hope to carry with me for a long time,” she adds. “If there was a takeaway that I could give other students, even if they are nervous or hesitant to take a new opportunity, they should still do it because it could be a very valuable experience.”
Featured image at top: UC journalism students conduct virtual interviews with directors at the Warren County Board of Elections as part of a partnership with The Cincinnati Enquirer.
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