Next Tuesday, Nov. 6, several Ozarks students, faculty and staff will be producing a live television broadcast of local and national election coverage from downtown Clarksville.
Susan Edens, director of broadcasting at Ozarks, is coordinating the ground-breaking KUOZ, TV-6 2012 election night watch party.
"We have three classes that are helping with this massive event: my backpack journalism class, Dr. Heather McFarland’s political communication class, and Dr. Greta Marlow’s event planning class, not to mention Johnson County Clerk Michelle Frost, who has been great to work with during this process." Edens explained.
Ozarks first hosted an election night watch party in 2008, but this year will be different.
"2008’s election night coverage was great, but we wanted to do something different this time around. Last election, we broadcast everything out of Walker Hall here on campus. This time, with the aid of our TriCaster, we can broadcast from a remote location, like the Johnson County Courthouse," Edens said.
The broadcast will include much more than simple election results, however.
"There will be a stage set up in front of the courthouse for reporting and interviews," Edens said. "Sherrie Arey, dean of residential and student life, will act as the primary anchor for the event. She will report results as they come in as well as background information on local dignitaries and issues on the ballots."
McFarland’s political communication students will debut their election stories that were produced during a recent trip to Chicago. Also, a local band will be playing inside Fat Dawgs, a barbecue restaurant across from the courthouse, where students will work via Wi-Fi to find and report election results from across the country.
"There is so much that goes into an event of this magnitude." Edens explained. "I have to admire the hard work every one of these students has already put into this, and there is still so much to do."
The event will run from 6 p.m. to approximately 10 p.m. next Tuesday and will be broadcast live on KUOZ-TV, Channel 6. The broadcast will also be streaming live via KUOZ’s Ustream channel, www.ustream.tv/channel/kuoz. Everyone is welcome to attend the watch party.
Topics: Communication Studies