In 2020, 100 Days in Appalachia ran a story by a student journalist at Appalachian State University, taking readers inside the newsroom as journalists covered the lead-up to the election and election night itself. The piece focused on how the newspaper informed readers about local races, and how it was a pivotal time to engage an audience in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and youth voter turnout being a significant factor in the election. It also underscored the critical role student journalism plays in Appalachia and beyond.

For the 2024 elections, 100 Days in Appalachia went inside what it’s like to cover election night as a student journalist with The Post, an independent, award-winning student-run news publication on Ohio University’s campus. Editor-in-chief Alyssa Cruz and Managing Editor Madalyn Blair told us about mapping out coverage and preparation, designing the paper, the necessity of student journalism, and much more. Read about their work in their own words.

In the weeks leading up to election night, what were the big stories on the ground on campus or in the community?

Alyssa Cruz: Leading up to the election, the name of the game was planning ahead. We knew the night was going to be chaotic, so we wanted to ensure we were as prepared as possible. On Oct. 29, we ran our Election Edition, which was our print edition devoted to strictly election topics. A few of the key ballot measures we focused on were the Senate race as well as Issue 1. Additionally, we covered the Ohio Congressional District 95 race heavily. Many of our readers were invested in the race, given Micah McCarey, one of the candidates, is an Athens local and an Ohio University employee. 

Part of the planning included mapping out what we wanted our coverage to look like. We knew we wanted to do live coverage on social media as well as our website. One thing I wanted to do to make this year differ from previous years, however, was to also create a print edition for the election results.

We have daily online content but print weekly on Tuesday mornings. Because the election was on Tuesday, we decided to do our usual paper that day, followed by a miniature election results paper on Wednesday. This created a tall order for our staff to not only make sure we had content for the website but also for the paper. Prior to the election, we mapped out what content was going where in the paper and a rough design of what it would look like. Our news staff also created shells of the different levies and issues, that way only the information needed to be plugged in once the results came in. 

Madalyn Blair: Preparation and being well-informed is key when covering an election. In the weeks leading up to the election, I was monitoring professional and student media outlets to get ideas and see how they were covering the election. Journalists nationally were prepared to cover the election, and I wanted to ensure The Post could do something different and stand out among competitors.

The majority of The Post’s readership comes from Athens residents, and although it is vital to inform our readers on state and national politics, I knew it was even more crucial for our publication to cover what was on local ballots. 

The week before Election Day, we ran our Election Edition. On Nov. 5 we ran a typical tabloid with campus and local news, as well as sports and entertainment-centered stories; however, we ran a miniature election results paper – the paper had eight pages rather than 16 – Wednesday. For two weeks we were dedicated to all things politics: local, state and national. Looking back, I’m beyond pleased with the two election editions we produced, and I wouldn’t change anything about the structure of our publishing plan. As journalists, it is our responsibility to take who or what is on the ballot and make it more comprehensive to readers. Running our Election Edition a week before Election Day was important because it allowed readers to understand and prepare themselves for what to expect Nov. 5.

How does your newsroom plan election coverage? What issues do you focus on?

Cruz: Above all, we wanted to make sure our readers were informed.

Some of the language on the ballot was hard to digest, and we did our best to break everything down as clearly as possible. Because we have a large student demographic, many of our readers were voting for possibly the first time. It was our job to make sure they had all the information they needed to make an informed decision.

What our audience does not see is the research, fact checking and editing that goes into every piece of content we produce. During election night, our awesome news staff was literally running back and forth from the Athens Board of Elections to get the most up-to-date information for our content. Every written piece was looked over by at least three people, ensuring it aligned with AP Style.

Regarding the printing process– designing a paper takes a second! I wanted to make sure we had a decent amount of data visualization in our coverage– something I feel like we lack as a publication. The election was the perfect opportunity to experiment with it and teach ourselves new things. The only problem: nobody knew how to make data viz. I was so grateful so many staffers volunteered to learn on the spot, and they did a fantastic job. We were able to put two of the pieces into the paper as planned, and I was thrilled we were able to pull it off because it was exactly what I pictured.  

Our deadline for the paper was 8 a.m. Wednesday because we wanted to wait until the presidential results were in. Because of this, we all went to bed with a standby cover and we then changed it early the next morning. Our amazing printers were super communicative and helped us produce the exact paper we wanted. 

Blair: Going into the election we tried to mentally prepare everyone, ourselves included, for the long night ahead of us. We wanted every editor to be available and on standby for the first few hours after polls closed to help in any way possible. Throughout the day and night, writers, photographers, videographers and those handling our social media knew their responsibilities. As an executive editor, I was responsible for managing, coordinating and making decisions for every section; however, each editor and director had their own ideas of the content they wanted for the election, and we made sure to support them with those goals. However, everything comes with its challenges.

Readers may not realize the days and weeks-long research that go into a story, the number crunching of facts or making phone call after phone call to get a comment from a local politician. Something we wanted to focus on was how to make our election coverage as visually and engaging as possible.

Our staff made graphics and captions that displayed how the City of Athens and Athens County voters voted in this election and throughout the years. Whether every Ohio University student is registered to vote in Athens or not, they are temporary residents of Athens, so they must know the local politicians in their area. 

Doing the research, writing the story or taking a photo is only the surface level of what we had to do to create our miniature election results paper. Once a story is complete, it has to go through the section editor, who then fact-checks and edits it. Then, the story gets edited through our copy chief, who ensures the story is cohesive and aligns with AP Style. From there, someone is designing the story on Adobe InDesign, which is how the story will look on the physical paper once it’s printed. There are a multitude of steps that went into the results paper, but it’s necessary. Around 2 a.m. Wednesday, the last of us left the newsroom for a few hours of shut-eye. Although the results were not fully in at that time, the paper was nearly completed and in the morning we could just tweak any changes we needed before submitting it early the next morning.

What were your goals as a newsroom or as a journalist going into election night, or covering politics in the lead-up to the election?

Cruz: Our main goal going into election night was to prioritize hard work and accuracy. The majority of our staff is volunteer, so I was nervous about turnout. The staff completely blew me away, and the newsroom was filled all night and well into the morning with hardworking and dedicated journalists. From our audience engagement team to multimedia to reporters to photojournalists, every staffer worked their butts off to do what they do best. The energy was electric with people running back and forth to yell results and give updates of content. Finally at 2:30 in the morning, we told everyone to go home and get some well-deserved rest.

Blair: Going into election night the main goal was to create content that upheld ethical standards and accuracy. Despite a small group of our staff being paid, the rest are unpaid and have no binding ties; however, I was blown away by the number of people who came into the newsroom at different hours of the night to help in some capacity. Although this was my first time covering a presidential election, in all the years before covering elections with The Post, I never saw a more dedicated and eager staff at everyone’s disposal. If we had to turn back time and take away some of the people who did not contribute in some capacity on election night, we would have completely different content. Every single person who contributed in any way helped leverage us to our goals and succeed in our standards. Producing two print copies in one week is a lot and physically draining, but with each of us supporting each other and eager to learn, we produced a paper we are beyond proud of.

What role do you think student journalism plays in communities, especially covering something as pivotal as election night?

Cruz: “Student journalism is journalism.” This is something I try to remind my staff every day. We may not have the same experience as seasoned journalists, but we have the same goals.

We are in a unique position as a student media outlet because we live in somewhat of a news desert. Community members really do read our content and are responsible for the majority of the pick-up rates of our print paper. We are the ones responsible for making the information digestible and interesting to readers, and we take that responsibility seriously. 

The whole nation, possibly the world, held its breath Nov. 5, and our newsroom was no different. It was a very emotional night for all, but we put those emotions aside to do our jobs. We were on the front lines of delivering information, just like every other newsroom in the country. What I learned and what my staff learned was truly experiential learning at its finest, and I could not be more proud of our work. 

Blair: Covering an election is already taxing, but for student journalists, it’s a whole other level. Student journalists are tasked with an incredibly demanding responsibility, with limited resources, funds and legitimacy compared to professional news outlets, to keep their campus and community informed. However, the staff at The Post had a large team of dedicated student journalists who wanted to come to the newsroom and offer any support they could. Covering a presidential election allows everyone to get a taste of his or her future career as a journalist. Although we are a campus newspaper, a lot of our readers rely on our news for daily and weekly information.

Here, in a somewhat news desert in Southeast Ohio, we run with the big dogs; we have a huge responsibility to display ourselves as legitimate and trustworthy to not only students but also permanent residents. 

Blair: I’ve covered elections as a news reporter, the news editor and now a presidential election as the managing editor, and I wouldn’t change any experience for the world. The Post prides itself on being a learning environment and cultivating experiential learning. If I was already a professional journalist covering the election could I have done it? Yes. But I probably would not have as much jurisdiction, decision-making and hands-on learning as I did as a student journalist. As my senior year progresses, I can tell my peers, colleagues and future bosses the successful experiences I had as a student journalist, and despite the lack of resources and expertise as professional journalists, what me and my team were still able to do. 

Alyssa Cruz is a senior at Ohio University studying journalism and Spanish as well as the Editor-in-Chief of The Post. Alyssa works for palabra., a multimedia platform of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She also completed an internship with 60 Minutes in New York City this past summer. 

Madalyn Blair is a senior at Ohio University studying journalism and the Managing Editor of The Post. She was previously the News Editor for The Post and completed an internship with WLWT in Cincinnati over the summer. 

The Post is an independent, award-winning student-run news publication on Ohio University’s campus. With a staff of 390 students, The Post covers topics relating to student interests, faculty, academia, culture, the arts and athletics, as well as state and national issues.