Syracuse University student journalists will fan out to area polling places on Election Day as part of the Newhouse School’s Democracy in Action project, which takes a detailed snapshot of why voters are going to the polls and the issues important to their communities.
The comprehensive reporting project will involve about 70 graduate and undergraduate students from the broadcast and digital journalism, magazine, news and digital journalism and visual communications departments.
The rich collection of stories using text, audio, video and photography will be compiled on the Democracy in Action website. In addition to the regular afternoon newscasts on NCC News, live cut-ins will take place each hour from 7-10 p.m. on NCC News and OTN, the student television network based at Newhouse.
The Democracy in Action initiative at the Newhouse School began in 2010. Each Election Day, student journalists report at polling places across Onondaga County, starting from when polls open and continuing throughout the day.
Instead of focusing on specific races and results, stories feature voters and topics like why people vote, what they are teaching their children about voting and why voting represents “democracy in action.”