Newhouse students to cover New Hampshire primary

Newhouse students to cover New Hampshire primaryJanuary 20, 2004Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

Students from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications will get hands-on experience as political reporters in the upcoming New Hampshire presidential primary on Jan. 27. The students, 18 in all, will cover the primary for newspapers and radio stations in several states.

The Syracuse Post-Standard will run some of the students’ articles. Additionally, WATD, a Boston-area radio station and past recipient of the Associated Press’ “Bay State Award” for best local news and five Edward R. Murrow Awards for national news excellence, has already lined up four of the SU students as its news reporting team in New Hampshire. Ed Perry, owner and manager of the station, will provide the students with state-of-the-art recorders, microphones, editing equipment and phone connections, and will air their reports on WATD.

Other students will be reporting for the Niagara Gazette, the Utica Observer-Dispatch, the Raleigh News and Observer, the Poughkeepsie Journal, the Arkansas Daily Citizen, the Waterbury Republican-American, the Valley News in Vermont, the Southern Pines Pilot and WVIA-FM in Pittston, PA.

Sending Newhouse students enrolled in the political reporting class to the primary has been an SU tradition during many past elections, begun by Joel Kaplan, assistant dean for professional graduate studies and associate professor of newspaper journalism.

“This is a terrific opportunity for Newhouse students to do real, shoe-leather reporting and be part of the great democratic process,” says Charlotte Grimes, Knight Chair in Political Reporting. “We’re grateful to the news organizations who will use their stories.”