Lights, camera, election! NC partners with Niagara Dailies for Niagara Votes 2021 broadcast

“They’re the holy guts of the operation.”

That’s how journalist Grant LaFleche described Niagara College’s student involvement in the Niagara Dailies live election night broadcast, Niagara Votes 2021, on September 20.

When viewers from across the region and beyond clicked into view local and national results on the Niagara Dailies websites – TorStar publications including the St. Catharines Standard, the Welland Tribune, and the Niagara Falls Review – Niagara College students were at the hub of the action.

Broadcasting: Radio, Television and Film students were both behind the scenes and on-air to provide coverage for Niagara’s four ridings – and it was all done from a College TV studio at the Welland Campus.

LaFleche – who hosted the show alongside PR professional Kalvin Reid – noted that the election night broadcast would not have been possible without the NC team. He applauded students for handling all the technical broadcast work – from camera crews to graphics, to managing guests – and for assisting on the reporting side, tracking results as they came in, and augmenting the publication’s reporting staff by helping them gather information, track results, and provide perspectives on their election.

As the anchor in front of the camera, LaFleche said needs a team he can depend on to provide the best experience and information to their viewers, and the NC student team has never let him down.

“The student EPs [executive producers] are always sharp and professional. They are clearly well taught,” he said. “And they really help us manage the shifting ground that election night always brings.”

A crew of upper-year TV production students worked behind the scenes to produce the broadcast. The fact that they were putting together the most complex show they had ever done during the first 12 days of the Fall term was not lost on third-year student Ross Mosher. As the show’s producer, he noted that it was a massive undertaking for everyone involved.

“Starting our third year with such an ambitious project is going to test everything that we’ve learned so far and highlight what we still don’t know,” said Mosher. “Highlighting those gaps in our knowledge so early in the year is intimidating, but it gives all of us a roadmap of how we can grow.”

As the show’s producer, Mosher – with the support of faculty – took charge of the production. Before the show went live, he tracked what needed to be done and ensured that someone was doing it. Once the show began, his focus shifted on what would come next – graphics, speakers, topics to be addressed, and more. Mosher had to keep on top of all the content for the show, top to bottom, so the technical team could focus on making the content look its best.

“The opportunity not just to participate on a show like this, but to be the producer really cannot be understated,” he said. “This is the job I will be working towards for the next decade of my career.”

For Mosher, it was the first time he has been involved in an election broadcast and he seized the opportunity to participate.

“A federal election is always a piece of Canadian history, and I think that this upcoming election will be very impactful in shaping Canada’s future,” he said. “I feel very lucky to have this opportunity to participate in history.”

Journalism alumna (2020) Lindsay Smith (nee Tweedle), who co-hosted the election show with the Niagara Dailies as a student during the last election, was excited to return to her alma mater to assist. It was the first time she had been on campus since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 ended her in-person classes shortly before she graduated from the College with the Dean’s Academic Medal from the School of Media.

Smith, who currently works in digital communications at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, volunteered to produce the results segments, to ensure the information they announced was accurate, as well as to help identify interesting and newsworthy storylines for the local and national races.

“Election night is such a big night for journalists, and I’m happy to be a part of this joint coverage,” she said. “It’s a way to provide people in Niagara with quality, local election coverage, and I know what a great opportunity it is for the students who participate.”

School of Media Professor Susan Pedler noted that the College has partnered on several previous election night shows with the Niagara Dailies and it’s always been a valuable experience for students.

“It doesn’t get more important than election night. Students have to prove what they’ve got,” she said.

“This is where our Broadcasting program shines. We get our students out of the classroom and get them working on real broadcasts as often as we can. They get to practice the skills they’ve learned. More importantly, they experience the pressure of live television.”

During the experience, Pedler can see students rise up to the challenge – from the first half-hour frenzy, to settling into their roles. “Their confidence rises and they let go of their nerves. They just do the job. And they love it,” she said. “It’s wonderful to witness.”

LaFleche also knows the value of the experience that students gain on election night.

“In journalism, firsthand experience is the most important teachers, and these kids get a crash course in broadcast news that will help them a great deal as they graduate and head into the job market,” he said.

This was the first time that the Niagara dailies’ election coverage show was broadcast from the Welland Campus BRTF studio. The College studio not only offered a location for the show to take place following the closure of The Standard‘s local newsroom but offered a space large enough to accommodate COVID-19 safety measures while putting together a production during the pandemic.

LaFleche applauded the partnership between the Niagara Dailies and the College, noting that it allows both institutions to better serve the community.

“And that is something we can all be proud of,” he said.