Twenty-four mass communication students boarded a charter bus bound for Dallas on Wednesday to witness political journalism in action at the Texas senatorial and gubernatorial debates.
The students, along with four Manship School of Mass Communication faculty members, embarked on the two-day political journalism trip to learn how to network and form relationships with professionals.
“The trip started off as a very early morning trip on a bus to talk about politics,” said David Kurpius, a mass communication assistant professor. “By the time we hit Shreveport, people were talking and asking questions. By the time we hit Belo, we had problems making appointments because students had so many questions. You could see the excitement level build.”
Steve Ackermann, a representative from Belo Interactive, the media company broadcasting the debates, accompanied the students on the bus.
During the ride, Ackerman gave students the basic information on the Texas senatorial and gubernatorial candidates and the issues up for debate.
The students traveled to KERA, Texas’ public broadcasting station, to view the senatorial debates.
They then sat in the spin room where working journalists asked the candidates questions based on their performance and responses in the debate.
“The spin room was intense but fun because we were around the people who are doing the job we hope to have one day,” said Jeanne Gunther, a mass communication senior.
Sarah Bell, a mass communication junior, also said she enjoyed seeing the working press cover the debates.
“It was interesting to see what they thought was important and newsworthy,” Bell said.
Students woke Thursday to another day full of meeting professional journalists and learning the business.
Students began their morning touring Dallas’ local television station WFAA and the 24-hour cable news network TXCN.
During the tour students saw a working newsroom and viewed the equipment used in the newsroom.
“[The tours] showed me how ahead of the game the Manship School is,” said Lisanne Alack, a mass communication senior. “I recognized the equipment, therefore I felt I could be able to go in the real world. It was cool to see the problems we faced with [our] equipment doesn’t go away in the future.”
The tours also affirmed Gunther’s broadcast career goals.
“It was my first real experience in a newsroom,” Gunther said. “I felt the buzz a newsroom generates. It felt like the adrenaline you feel at a race. It just pushes and drives you.”
Students again traveled to KERA on Thursday to watch the gubernatorial debate and spin room. Students saw the effect of the negative attack ads on the candidates’ disposition toward each other.
“The debates showed me that politics is dirty everywhere, not just in Louisiana,” said Tony Marks, a mass communication junior. “Many different issues make up campaigns, not just attack ads. They inform the public and when [a voter is] undecided they kick in.”
Mass communication assistant professor Lori Boyer explained the importance of the trip was to help students learn about forming relationships between professionals and faculty members.
“Coalition building is an important skill everyone should learn,” Boyer said.
Personal coalition includes relationships between students and professors that are needed for letters of recommendation, jobs or any other advice.
Professional coalitions are the ones the candidates filled with perspective constituents and prospective voters.
Boyer also said the trip helped students cross over into the professional world and gave them a chance to build stronger relationships with the mass communication faculty.
“It is hard to build a relationship with students in a classroom,” Boyer said.
Kurpius thinks the 24 high-quality students on the trip represented the school well. Students came from a mixture of broadcast and print journalism backgrounds.
“You couldn’t ask for a better group. They asked great questions and acted professionally,” Kurpius said.
He also said the students came away with a different understanding of media and politics.
The challenge for all faculty interested in political communication is to take the experiences of the trip and share them with other students and faculty, Kurpius said.
“The question now is how do we get the spark in political communication to grow into flames and spread across the school,” Kurpius said. “It depends on students, the people who went on the bus trip telling their friends they really missed out being on the trip.”