Students in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications will cover the 2016 presidential election season for a global audience through a unique partnership with Skype in Media.
Focusing on the millennial perspective, students will use Skype TX Broadcast high definition technology to create a continual flow of content—including video blogs, podcasts, articles and live interviews. Content will be published on the “Elections Unpeeled” website at http://electionsunpeeled.syr.edu.
As the leading communications school in the U.S., the Newhouse School is uniquely qualified to offer high quality media content that sheds light on the views of the country’s youngest voters. Skype in Media, and its revolutionary technology geared towards a new generation of broadcasters, will help students create innovative content from a cast of millions, powered by Skype TX—broadcast hardware with peerless Skype integration.
“Across the world, we are seeing big changes in the way people give and receive information,” says Newhouse Dean Lorraine Branham. “This partnership allows our students to further hone both their technology and their reporting skills. It also gives them a chance to represent the views of their generation as they engage in this landmark campaign.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with the Newhouse School at Syracuse University,” says Eugene Ho, director of Product Management for Skype. “By outfitting the Newhouse School with studio-grade broadcasting Skype TX units, student broadcasters can offer viewers from around the world access to a unique political perspective, enabling them to perceive the election through the eyes of millennial voters.”
Students will be based in Syracuse but will travel to cover the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this summer. They will also travel to other events and file stories for national media outlets. Keren Henderson, assistant professor of broadcast and digital journalism at the Newhouse School, will supervise the project.
Students will maintain editorial control, while Skype and Microsoft Office will facilitate the content workflow, ensuring optimal technical capabilities and connectivity. The partnership will persist through the election cycle, promising to deliver incisive and captivating political content.
The Newhouse/Skype in Media partnership began with the students’ remote coverage of the New York and Pennsylvania Primaries. Examples of the students’ work are available at http://electionsunpeeled.syr.edu.
