dispatch from jeremy

You may be wondering what it's like to be in j-school on an election night. Jeremy Herb, a former capstoner and currently a grad student at Columbia, forwards this quick note:

I did get to report on the presidential race for a "deadline team" on election day. I was at the Republican camp for most of the night which was, umm, interesting. But fun overall. And then I went to the Democratic event three blocks away, and it was just nuts. Such a fun day, 17 hours of working and I wouldn't have wanted anything less.

You can see everything Columbia did here: columbiajournalist.org. Three broadcasts (radio, video, new media) + the print team that I was on. We had to file stories at 5 p.m. 9 p.m. and midnight, which was also good experience and nerve wracking when I had no Internet.

Dispatch from Columbia University: Obama/McCain

Jeremy Herb (SCU '08) now a grad student at Columbia's J-School, sends the following dispatch re the Obama-McCain panel on public service at Columbia University in New York today:

"It's been a fun day, though the speeches were a bit of a letdown. After classes, I grabbed a camera and a notebook and went out without knowing what I'd find. I ended up writing about some other non-Columbia students who made it into the speeches, and then also protesters outside the school. I even took photos for a slideshow of the protesters, something I don't have too much experience with. The atmosphere was pretty crazy, both outside and in the student center, which has turned into a newsroom. I'm glad I got to be part of this project, which probably had about 20 people contributing either as reporters, photographers, multimedia people or editors. And there was a lot of good stuff on there from all over the city. This was completely student planned and run, and is a good sign of the entrepreneurial ability of my class. It would have been fun had I gotten into the event either as a student or press, but that's OK."

Here's Jeremy's complete blog.

Here's an excerpt:

It's been a zoo here today at Columbia: police surrounding the campus, entrances closed, having to show a school ID to get on campus.

After finishing classes, I went out and did some reporting, adding to the above blog. I put myself on the protest beat, as I was first to put up a slideshow when protesters gathered a little after 5 p.m. It was very peaceful, I even saw protesters talking with a nearby officer.

The steps outside Columbia were full of students, as a giant TV screen was outside. I watched inside the J-school student center, which has essentially turned into a newsroom, complete with a live feed of the room on the blog.

photo courtesy jeremy herb