Students from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications will provide election coverage from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Nov. 5 in video, audio and written format.
Students from the SMART-Lab, 90.3 KRNU-FM, Nebraska Nightly, Nebraska News Service and Production House of the Andersen Hall Experience Lab will offer in-depth election updates throughout the evening.
The Nebraska Secretary of State’s office will provide live election results to the students, who will report on candidates' races and state initiatives. Student journalists will also provide updates and analysis on significant local, state and national races and initiatives. Nebraska Nightly will begin coverage at 7:30 p.m., with 90.3 KRNU coverage launching at 8 p.m.
Nebraska Nightly can be viewed live on YouTube and LNKTV Education.
Mackenzie Noble is producing the Nebraska Nightly election coverage and anchoring the telecast with Harmon Johnsen. Reporters in the field will include Trey Marler, Olivia Reed, Sophie Farrell, Dane Lyons, Gracie Jones, Sarah Person and Patience Goe. Madalyn Fox and Logan Schlautman will report for the SMART-Lab, with Jackie Ruiz-Rodriguez and Hayden Hudson serving as in-studio reporters. Lucas Sinnett, Logan Eby, Hayden Hauge, and Jay Quemado will direct the television coverage.
The Social and traditional Media Analytics and Research Tools (SMART) Lab enables students to understand what’s on the minds of Nebraskans in a whole new way, according to Valerie Jones, associate professor and co-director of the SMARTLab.
“They’ll be using cutting-edge software to monitor real-time conversations in social media, digging into reactions to poll conditions and early results, identifying key topics and sentiment related to candidates and issues, and more,” Jones said.
More than 30 photography students will provide comprehensive photographic coverage across the state, documenting the election process and various watch parties.
“This is an opportunity for students to gain real-world, real-time journalism experience covering a major event,” Shoun Hill, assistant professor of practice in journalism, said. “The hardest part for the students will be approaching strangers to gather names and other essential information for captions. They need this for their photos to be shared on the Nebraska News Service and with the Nebraska Examiner. It’s a great learning experience for them.”
90.3 KRNU studio news anchors will be Dominic Ferraro, Jaelyn Gross, Skyler Sears, Maddie Hansen, Emma Liberta and Henry Goodwin. Payton Pohlad and Ben Drozd will track election returns. Field reporters Teddy Ball, Blake Mace, Nandini Rainikindi, Charlee Sharack, Lauren Behn, Avery Peck, Ariana Garber and Ian Vondrak will report live from the candidate watch parties in the Omaha and Lincoln areas.
Students in the college’s Mosaic class, which is a course that reports on and for Lincoln’s refugee communities, will be interviewing new Americans in Omaha and Lincoln to gauge their reactions to voting — some for the first time. Their stories and photos of them will be shared throughout election day on Nebraska News Service. Reporters in that course include Maddie Ames, Sara Badura, Leah Bryan, Mayra Carmona Ponce, Roselyn Gonzalez, Marissa Lindemann, Jacqueline Lovci, Jessica Meza, Sam Mueggenberg, Jamie Reiff, Paloma Sanchez-McGee, Maggie Winklepleck, Lexie Worden and Livia Ziskey.
“This is such a great opportunity for students to get out into communities to share voices that are directly impacted by the elections and are too often overlooked,’’ said Chris Graves, assistant professor of practice and a Deepe Family Chair in Depth Reporter who instructs the Mosaic class. “I know the students will do a tremendous job amplifying those voices and sharing their perspective on this election and partaking in a key tenet of democracy: upholding the First Amendment. I could not be more proud of them.”
Additionally, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse and Kevin Smith, political science professors, will offer analysis throughout the radio and television coverage.
“This event provides CoJMC students with hands-on learning opportunities providing them with experiences that go beyond the classroom,” said Jill Martin, associate professor of practice and co-director of the Experience Lab.
Ziskey, Macy Byars and Josie Golka will coordinate the Nebraska News Service’s live blog throughout the night. Additionally, Alaina Tomesh is helping to launch NNS Now, a livestream social media program, as part of the Nebraska News Service’s ongoing news and promotional coverage. Jacob Schrantz will promote CoJMC election coverage on social media.
More than 70 students are expected to be involved on election night, making it a collaborative university endeavor. Visit nebraskanewsservice.net for ongoing election coverage.
