Student Journalists Get First Taste of Election Experience

By Dominick Pfisterer

I was sitting in my apartment when I first heard the news that Joe Biden won the Presidential Election. Not ten minutes later did I hear cheers from outside, car horns honking; it was even 70-degrees outside in November in upstate New York – everything was different.

There was a sense of unity in the air. People were outside of their houses and pure joy could be seen on their faces.

Leading up to the election, campus was tense. There was a lot of unknown, I could feel the uneasiness and fear among my peers. It seemed as though every conversation was dominated by the election. I even had a class get cancelled due to the stress the election had on the campus community.

Voting is a unique privilege that Americans have over the rest of the world. Our democracy is strong, and voting provides a platform of power to us everyday citizens.

The election is a very hectic time in our country. Our leadership is literally up for grabs and the decision is placed in the hands of the 300 million people that make up our wonderful country.

The election is an especially busy time for journalists who are tasked with reporting and covering the event. I recently was able to talk to my friend and fellow Newhouse MNO graduate student and fellow blogger Adriana Rozas, who has spent a lot of time immersed in political journalism. This year’s election was different for her in a lot of ways, partly because it was the first election she covered in the mainland United States – being that her hometown is San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“It was an entirely different vibe,” she said about her first mainland election. “For the first time I was able to vote for the President.”

The role of a journalist is very important during an election. One of the most important aspects of being a journalist is to remain objective and to stick to the facts of what is happening.

“I was not posting opinions online,” Rozas said about covering the Katko-Balter race, a local election to Syracuse. “I was strictly writing and posting the facts. In previous years I had been able to be open about who I was supporting and why. As a journalist this year, it felt unnatural to keep those opinions to myself, but I think it was a crucial part of my coverage to not post opinions.”

Other than filtering out personal biases and opinions to provide objective news coverage of the election, elections are an especially busy time for journalists. There is an abundance of information coming in at all hours of the day that they must make sure the public is up to speed with.

On campus, student journalists got a first-hand experience of what life is like in the industry during an election.

“I think everyone was feeling the pressure,” said Rozas. “I did some work with CitrusTV and they were gearing up for the Election Day special which is a lot of work. I think most people were amped but also anxious for it to be over so we could all take a break.”