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UC students gain field experience covering historic election
November 30, 2020
By Rebecca Schweitzer
On November 3, millions of Americans lined up to cast their votes during a year driven by the pandemic and political unrest. In Cincinnati, polls opened at 7a.m. and reporters were there, ready to cover the historically largest number of votes in a US Presidential Election.
12 Arts and Sciences journalism students had the opportunity to be part of that history, working as correspondents for the Cincinnati Enquirer by covering polls in the Warren, Clermont, and Butler counties. This was the third presidential election that UC students have been able to cover for the Enquirer.
During this year, students from Professor Robert Jonason’s News Collaborative class were sent to virtually interview the directors of the Board of Elections in their designated counties (Butler, Clermont, or Warren) prior to the election. Mark Wert of the Cincinnati Enquirer supplied the students with questions and after the interviews, the students wrote stories on the information they gathered. These stories were sent to the Enquirer and the information has since been used in two stories.