Niagara College’s journalism and broadcasting programs are partnering with The St. Catharines Standard, The Welland Tribune and The Niagara Falls Review on livestreamed coverage of the municipal election on Monday, Oct. 22.
“This is one of the best opportunities for our students to put their skills to use,” said Peter Vandenberg, coordinator of Niagara College’s broadcasting program. “I can’t think of anything more challenging than an election night, where you have no idea what’s going to happen, or when.”
The show will be hosted by St. Catharines Standard reporter Grant LaFleche. Broadcasting students will be producing and directing the show. Journalism students will be providing up-to-the-minute results and analysis.
Second-year journalism student Tala Muhtadi will be paying particular attention to the area’s female candidates. As part of her research she discovered that most of Niagara’s 12 municipalities have never had female mayors.
“I was honestly shocked,” Muhtadi said. “So it will be interesting to see what happens election night and if we see any changes to the gender balance in our local governments.”
The partnership is the first of its kind for Niagara College’s journalism and broadcasting programs.
“For our students, this will be an inside view of how things happen in a real newsroom,” said Charles Kopun, coordinator of Niagara College’s journalism program. “Our students will work side-by-side with professional journalists on an election night with all its drama.”
The show starts at 6 p.m. The link will be on the homepages of The St. Catharines Standard, The Welland Tribune and The Niagara Falls Review. Viewers can also participate on Twitter using the hashtag #NiagaraVotes2018.
