Some more examples of "campaign trail" reporting

WNPR's Nancy Cohen profiled 4th district Democrat Jim Himes, as he tries to upset incumbent Chris Shays.

Diane Orson takes the other side, exploring Shays' fight to keep his seat, in a bad year for Republicans.

More news on economy and election

Today, Tribune papers report on...well, what we've been talking about.  John McCain needs to focus on the economy if he wants to win.  

Lisa Burns on Economy, Education; Greene talks to voters

Here is the audio from our in-class interview with Quinnipiac Media Studies professor Lisa Burns.  She talked to us about the economy, and how it's playing out in the presidential race...and gave us some great soundbites for our election stories. 

I also wanted to draw your attention to a story by David Greene, NPR White House Correspondent, who's been traveling America, doing just this sort of reporting during the election.  Here, he talks to voters in Northeast Pa.  

Election Assignment #1 - The Spot

The latest polls are showing a lead for Barack Obama over John McCain that is just outside the margain of error - about 5.5 points - heading into tonight's debate. While that number has come down a bit in recent days, it shows considerable support for the Democrat as the financial crisis worsens.

This isn't too surprising...we've been hearing for weeks about how angry people are over the economy, and any attempt to link it's problems to McCain and the Bush administration have worked.



So, that's where we are just before tonight's class - and we've got to formulate a story out of this. It's a pretty typical assignment that an editor would give you:



1. We see a trend, either in the news or in polls.


2. We ask a reporter to go talk to people to get their reaction.


3. We bring in an analyst (or "expert") to put this news into context for us.

Last week, you gathered at least three "vox" interviews from people, getting their feelings about the economy and the Presidential race. We'll start by going over those, and finding some trends in the reporting that we can focus on.

Then, we'll talk with Quinnipiac Communications Professor Lisa Burns. She's an expert on how the media covers politicians, and we'll ask her questions in an informal "press conference" format. We'll see if she's able to comment on some of the trends we see - and some of the voices we've gathered. We'll record her, and post the audio to this space.

Then, you'll need to pick some "sound bites" or "actualities" from the interview with Burns, and from your "vox." You'll write a 1:30 story, complete with host "lead" - as though you were doing it for tonight's newscast, before the debate.

In a perfect world, the story would be formatted something like this:

1. Host Lead...this includes the "news" of the story. What's the "peg?" Why are we telling this story now?

Example: Barack Obama leads John McCain by more than 5 points in national polls heading into tonight's "town-hall" style debate. Polls also show that the economy is the major issue on people's minds, and as ________ reports, that's been good news for Obama.

2. Your story should include two pieces of "vox" tape - either from opposing points of view - or from different types of constituents giving the same point of view. You're not doing scientific work here...you're giving a sense of how people on the street feel, but this is backed up with the numbers you already have from the polls. For instance, if the news is that Obama is leading because people trust him with the economy, your tape should probably reflect that. But, what if it doesn't? Well, it could be a story to highlight some voters who are breaking with the trends.

3. Finally, your story should include one "actuality" from Professor Burns, our "expert" voice. She's here to put this in some sort of context - to explain why she thinks voters are thinking this way, or how the media might be influencing their thoughts.

4. Your conclusion - as with any story - should move things forward. What's next? Well, since your story is written to air before tonight's debate, you can peg it to that. But, another interesting way to end a radio story is to save something interesting for the finish. What's the one thing that you heard on the street that really sums this all up? What's the thing that Prof. Burns said that wraps this story up? Listen for these things - not to use as soundbites, necessarily, but to put into your own words at the end of a story.