A student-led project gave viewers a close look at this year’s election results on Nov. 5, featuring local midterm coverage produced entirely by students in the Communication Department.
The idea for the livestream emerged in fall 2022, following a successful run of a previous livestream covering a local election.
“We agreed that this election was extremely important, and we should cover it to the best of our ability,” said Deanna Sipe, the Producer and Reporter for the project.
With the significance of this election weighing on them, they set out to create an engaging and thorough coverage plan.
What made the livestream possible was the collaborative effort of both students and professors within the department.
“We had a lot of small pieces to organize,” said Sipe. “We spent hours in meetings discussing topics, planning our stories, and making sure everything fit together seamlessly.”
After choosing key stories to cover, including candidate profiles and important voter issues, they organized the content. Each student worked hard to bring the stories to life on camera.
Planning ahead was important as they decided when and where to include live shots from polling stations and how to connect all the stories into a smooth show.
Despite facing a number of obstacles, they powered through. One major challenge came from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall just weeks before the livestream.
“It cut our preparation time short, but we worked with what we had,” said Sipe. “It was a huge challenge, but we managed to pull everything together.”
Communication was key during the livestream, as reporters stationed in the surrounding areas had to get in touch with the production team.
“We couldn’t call and talk directly, so we had to rely on Zoom chat,” said Sipe. “It was a bit tricky, but it worked.”
The student-led production is what made this livestream stand out.
“What makes this livestream unique compared to other election coverage is the fact that it was completely produced by students,” Sipe said. “We pulled everything together in just under two weeks, especially considering the hurricane that impacted us.”
The livestream consisted of multiple segments, including stories on the candidates running, topics taken from surveys conducted with voters, and day-of updates from polling places.
In addition, the team featured live shots of students stationed at local polling places for real-time election results and expert interviews on important topics.
Despite the challenges, everyone is proud of the result.
“It was overwhelming at times, especially trying to figure out where everything went in the rundown,” Sipe admitted. “But looking back, the show was one of the things I’m most proud of.”
While no additional livestreams are currently planned, there may be future projects soon through WHEE-TV, where the students hope to continue showcasing their work.
The election night livestream highlighted the hard work, creativity, and dedication of students committed to providing meaningful coverage of a key moment for everyone.