Emerson College Election Project 2008

A New Perspective

 

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    Emerson College Election Project 2008

    Schedule

    Phase One


    October 23 – Arrival in Boston
    October 24 – 28 Media Training at Emerson College
    October 29 – Departure from Boston for placement (throughout the U.S.) in media organization to observe campaign coverage by U.S. journalists. (T.V. journalists will be placed in Washington D.C. by State Dept.)

    Phase Two

    October 30 – November 5 Practical Media Experience in U.S. Presidential Campaign - Participants will be embedded through the United States. .

    Emerson College
    Detailed Schedule

    Thursday, October 23–Arrival in Boston, Airport pickup. Transportation to hotel.  Welcoming dinner with professors and students.  
    Assignment of student liaison to each journalist.  Also description of the documentary project (waiver signatures and other logistics)   
    Friday, October – 24
    9:30 -9:45 Orientation: Welcome: Campaign 2008 Election Project – goals and objectives of the training
    Dean of Communication Janis Andersen, Communication Studies Chair Rich West, Prof. Gregory Payne 
    (West One and Two, 80 Boylston, Little Bldg.) 
    9:45 – 12:30 – Module 1 -   Walking Tour of Boston and lecture:  Election History in the U.S:  What Can we Learn?  Prof. Mike Brown 
     12:30 -13:30 – Lunch Walker Bldg – Working Lunch with Prof. Manny Paraschos,  Dining Hall, 80 Boylston St. 
    13:30 –14:30 – Module 2 – Reporting and Reflecting on the Challenges and Promise of the U.S – Indonesia Relationship – Prof. Paul Niwa – Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 
    14:30 – 15:30 – Module 3 – Political Communication and the Campaign – Expectations of the Public and the Candidate in the Democratic Electoral Process –Peter Loge and Dr. Gregory Payne , Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 
     
    15:30 – 15:45 Break  (coffee, juices, soft drinks and snacks) 
     
     15:45 -17:00 – Module 4 – Role of Journalism in the Electoral Campaign –Prof. Mark Leccese 
    Expectations of the Public and the Candidate in the Democratic Election Process. Challenges in Covering the Political Campaign: Who controls the campaign agenda?  Modern day gatekeepers. Getting access to the candidate - getting the candidate to respond to pertinent questions.  Insights on how to avoid being used/abused by candidates and campaigns.  Defining the public good.  Historical examples and case studies. Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 
     
    Readings for Saturday module on Ethical Issus and Elections:   Case study:  “Shaping The Race Issue: A Special Kind of Journalism,” Background material on Tom Bradley Race for Governor and its relevance to Barak Obama’s 2008 Campaign for President. 
    17:00 – 19:30 Return to Hotel and Free Time
    19:30 Dinner with student and faculty liasons at various restaurants in Boston. 
    Saturday – October 25 
    9:00 – 12:00 Module 5 – Covering Candidate and Campaign News Conferences.  Historical case studies (video and audio)  - preparation, performance of mock news conference exercise. –Art Cohen (WBZ Radio)  (10- 11) Joe Battenfield  (Fox News) (11:15 – 12:15)
    Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 
     
    12:15 – 13:15 – Lunch –Dining Hall– 80 Boylston St.  
    13:15 – 14:00 – Module 6 –  Tips on Media Convergence, Jonathon Satriele
    Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 
    14:00 – 15:00 – Module 7 – Campaign Debates Special Events in the Electoral Campaign – Politics, Public Relations and Public Affairs.   Derek Beckwith,
    Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 
    15:00 – 15:15 Break  
    15:15 – 16:15 -  Module 8 – Mock Field (on site) Interview Exercise - Michael Macklin (Reporter and Correspondent)  and Derek Beckwith, Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 
     
    16:30 – 17:30 - Module 9 - Ethical Issues and Elections: Insights on race, religion, ethnicity, gender in the campaign – Dr. Gregory Payne, (discussion of Bradley effect in Election 2008), Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 

    17:30 – 19:30 - Return to Hotel  and Free time
    19:30  Campaign 2008 -  Students of CPLA, Forensics, RTNDA, SPJ Pizza and  Politics with the Indonesian Journalists (Bordy Theatre, 216 Tremont  St.) 
    Module 10 – Polling and Political Advertising – The Selling of the Candidate. (Background, review and discussion of polling and political ads and their presence and significance in today’s campaign.  Types of ads: id, argumentative and negative.  
    Keynote speaker: David Paleologos 

     

    Sunday, October 26 
    9:00 – 11:00 Module 11 - Tips on Campaign Reporting and Campaign War Stories - Carole Simpson. Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 
    Exercise for journalists on the art of interviewing.
    11:00 – 11:30 Break 
    11:30 – 13:00 – Module 12 – Grass Roots and New Media – Discussion of the Town Hall Issues Forum in Palm Springs, Ca., moderated by Shellie Karabell, Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 
     
    13:00  – 14:00 –Working Lunch For Women, Prof. Melinda Robbins and Prof. Carole Simpson, Blu Restaurant 
    13:00 – 14:00 – Project Lunch
    14:15 – 16:30  - Module 13 - Emerging Media and the Political Campaign – Prof. Linda Gallant, – Traditional versus On-Line Journalism, Media Lab,
    6th Floor, 120 Walker Bldg 
     
    Break up into groups for lab exercises on emerging media and politics.  Linda Gallant, Mark Lecesse, 
    16:30 – 16:45 – Break  
    16:45 – 17:45  Module 14 – U.S. Elections – International Perspectives and Mediated Realities – Mohamed Khalil, Nada Farhat, Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg 
    17:45 – 19:00 Return to Hotel and Free Time
    19:00 Dinner – Teatro, 177 Tremont St.  
    Monday – October 27  
    9:00 Meet for trip to Harvard University and Kennedy School
    Little Bldg. 80 Boylston St - Dining Hall 
    10:00 – 11:30 Tour of the Institute of Politics, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University  
    11:30 –13:00  Lunch at Harvard Faculty Club 
    13:00 – Depart Red Line T to Kennedy Presidential Library  
    14:00 – 15:00 Tour – John F. Kennedy Presidential Library  - Media and the Campaign.  
    15:00 – 16:00 – VIP Dialogue with John Shattuck, CEO of the Kennedy Library Foundation – Media and Politics – Kennedy Library 
    16:00 – 17:15 – Research time at the Library 
    17:30 – 18:30  Kennedy Library Forum – Dan Gioia, Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, “The President as a Patron for the Arts.”   
    18:30 – 19:30 Depart Kennedy Library for Boston

    19:30 – 21:30 Free Time

    22:00 - Dinner: Emerson graduate student, Nada Farhat hosts a dinner of authentic Saudi Arabian dishes at her home/art studio.

    Tuesday – October 28 
    9:00 – 12:00 –
    Interviews for documentaries and t.v. packages
    12:00 – 14:00 – Prof. Jerry Lanson and Cyndi Roy on Changing Perspectives of Journalism – From the State House News Room to Spokesperson for the Governor. Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg
    Module 15 – Mock News Conference (materials provided prior to this exercise to the journalists)
    Deconstruction of the Mock Press Conference – Prof. Jerry Lanson, Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg

    11:00 – 15:15 Media interviews, documentary interviews, lunch 
    14:00 – 15:00 Interviews for documentaries and t.v. packages, continued
    15:15 - 16:00 Take Home Lessons in Political Communication –
    Prof. Michael Weiler, Focus Group Room, 635, 120 Walker Bldg

    16:00 - 17:30 WEBN Election Panel Discussion on Election 2008 – Iowa, New Hampshire, Denver Experiences in Primaries, Caucuses, and General Election – Moderated by Prof. Marsha Della Giustina (location TBA)
    17:30 - 21:45 Journalists visit Crisis Communication class at Emerson. Room 503, 120 Walker Bldg.


    Wednesday – October 29 – Depart for Airport and embedded assignments with journalists in the U.S.  

     

    © 2008 Efe Sevin | Original design by Andreas Viklund