Newhouse students covering Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary

Newhouse students covering Tuesday’s New Hampshire primaryJanuary 07, 2008Wendy S. Loughlinwsloughl@syr.edu

Students from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications are gaining hands-on experience as political reporters, spending eight days in New Hampshire and covering tomorrow’s presidential primary. They have been in New Hampshire since Jan. 2, covering the primary for newspapers and radio stations in several states.

The students, enrolled in Newhouse’s political reporting course, are: Beth Croughan, a senior; Melissa Daniels, a junior; Trina Joshi, a graduate student; Liam Migdail-Smith, a junior; Joyce Ogirri, a graduate student; Larissa Padden, a graduate student; Shefali Pandey, a graduate student; Andrew Restuccia, a senior; Shelly Schwartz, a senior; Koren Temple, a graduate student; Laura Van Wert, a senior; Heath Williams, a junior; Bryan Young, a sophomore; and Richard Zussman, a graduate student.

They are covering the primary for the following news outlets: WATD Radio in Marshfield, Mass.; the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle; the (New Delhi, India) Express; the Westerly (R.I.) Sun; the Utica Observer-Dispatch; the Lowell (Mass.) Sun; the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette; the (Southern Pines, N.C.) Gazette; the Norwich (Conn.) Bulletin; and KUAR Public Radio in Little Rock, Ark.

The students paid their own expenses and are missing a week of their mid-year break in order to cover the primary. “I think it says a lot about the Newhouse School that our students are so hard working and dedicated,” says Charlotte Grimes, Newhouse’s Knight Chair in Political Reporting, who teaches the political reporting course and accompanied the students to New Hampshire. Grimes is posting the students’ stories on her news-based web site, Democracywise, at http://knightpoliticalreporting.syr.edu/democracywise.

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.

To arrange interviews with Grimes or any of the students, contact Grimes on her cell phone at (757) 876-6797, or Wendy Loughlin at (315) 443-2785 or (315) 412-4522.