JOMC Students Cover DNC

By: Kim Smith, Ph.D.

Eric Hicks, a JOMC student, poses with CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien at the DNC.

Students Stories Showcased

Fox News 8 Greensboro profiles Lauren Everett at DNC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Journalism students at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C., put their traditional, multimedia and electronic journalism skills to use covering the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., September 3-6. All agreed: It was a thrill of a lifetime. I feel as though this experience has changed my interest on world issues and my journalistic expertise, said Amber Thompson, a student in the department of journalism and mass communication at N.C. A&T. See Thompsons story on peoples reaction to first lady Michelle Obamas speech. Thompson was among five students from A&T who worked out of a building on South Church Street in Charlotte for two days. It served as a makeshift newsroom for more than 600 bloggers and independent journalists from around the world who werent able to get or afford professional media credentials.
Amber Thompson While professional journalists interviewed delegates inside the Time Warner Cable Arena (the site of the convention) and the Charlotte Convention Center, A&T students looked for stories taking place mostly on the streets of Charlotte. Ken Devanney, television studio manager at N.C. A&T, DCherie Lofton, operations manager at WNAA-FM, and Kim Smith, assistant professor in the department of journalism and mass communication, worked with them in the newsroom, assigning and editing stories they produced during the three days.

One of Lauren Everetts stories previewed President Obamas nomination speech. She combed the streets of Charlotte asking people what they needed to hear from the president in order for him to get their vote. In the process, she landed an interview with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, an A&T alumnus. See Everetts story on nomination speech preview. This experience taught me that as a journalist in order to get a well-rounded package you must be persistent and aggressive, said Everett. There are so

Lauren Everett

many other reporters out there seeking the same stories as you are and if you let that intimidate you, you just might miss out on a big scoop. Her scoop was the envy of many of the bloggers and independent journalists she was competing against. Ian Dear got reaction from a Charlottean who had learned that the Democratic National Committee had changed the venue of Obamas nomination speech from the outdoor 74,000-seat Bank of America Stadium to the 20,000 seat Time Warner Cable Area because of weather concerns. Confronted with so many possible story ideas and a limited amount of time, Dear learned a lesson about the dangers of being distracted. "I learned that when you are in that situation, even if the other story might seem more interesting than your own, you have to stay focused on what you came out to shoot, said Dear.
Ian Dear

Errin Diggs did a story on a group that provided pedal bike rides, fruit and bottled water as a means of promoting a healthy lifestyle for people attending the convention. See Diggs story on Freewheeling. She also took the time to observe professional journalists as they conducted interviews and reported for their news outlets. "I enjoyed seeing established reporters in action, and on live sets! As a student I finally understand what I expect in the future of my journalism career, said Diggs. These students were well prepared for this assignment. Some of them Errin Diggs represented the first group of students who were taught print journalism and basic multimedia platform skills, where they learned how to shoot and edit digital stills, audio and video using Smartphones and free or low-cost software such as Audacity, Soundslides and Windows Live MovieMaker. Following their emersion into traditional print and multimedia journalism techniques, Everett, Diggs and Dear learned how to shoot and edit video using professional equipment. All of these skills came in handy during the DNC. When the one professional camera and editing system werent available, Everett and Dear took out their Smartphones, shot video and edited it using Windows Live Movie Maker on their laptops. They uploaded their stories to YouTube and those stories were placed on The JOMC Journal, the departments news blog. Bonnie Newman Davis, JOMCs endowed professor of journalism, is the sites managing editor. Their stories were also aired on the universitys radio station WNAA-FM and were placed on the stations Web site. Thompson spent part of one day as the social media editor, spreading the word about students efforts on Facebook and Twitter. At the DNC, these students truly became multiplatform journalists, a requirement in the newsroom of the 21st century. .