COM Students Head North to Cover the New Hampshire Primary

In Loudon, N.H., campaign signs for Republicans former President Donald Trump and one-time United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley stand next to a sign asking voters to write in President Joe Biden in today’s primary election. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
COM Students Head North to Cover the New Hampshire Primary
Dozens of young journalists will provide multi-platform coverage on candidates, voters
About 50 BU College of Communication students are headed to New Hampshire today to cover the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. The next 24 hours will be the perfect living laboratory for young journalists to apply the training they’ve received thus far.
Take this past weekend. As soon as Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis announced Sunday afternoon on X that he was suspending his campaign, student journalists at the BU News Service (BUNS) scrambled to publish a story and push it out on social media. And editors quickly scrapped a planned story covering DeSantis’ watch party Tuesday night, shifting their coverage to the race between Republicans former President Donald Trump and one-time United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
In addition to BUNS, students from WTBU Radio and the Daily Free Press will work throughout the day and night to cover the candidates, issues, victory speeches, and voters in print, video, photo, and on social media.

“This is one of the biggest media events of the presidential landscape,” says Shannon Dooling, a COM associate professor of the practice in investigative reporting and an Edward R. Murrow Award winner, who has worked with such organizations as WBUR and ProPublica. “I hope they take with them what went well and what went wrong,” says Dooling, one of the students’ faculty advisors. “I remember when I first started reporting, I learned I needed to remember extra batteries, gloves, an extra pen, and some snacks. The best way to get that experiential learning is out on the streets, talking to folks and turning stories around on a tight deadline.”
Peter Smith (COM’80), a COM master lecturer in photojournalism, says the New Hampshire vote sets the tone for the races that go forward, recalling how in 2020 then–Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden did poorly, but rebounded in South Carolina and went on to win his party’s nomination and the general election.
“Our students will work next to local news organizations and the national press corps—it should have a similar effect on our journalism majors as attending a rock concert to hear their favorite band,” he says. “They will cover the polls to see who New Hampshire residents voted for and why. They will cover person-on-the-street stories on Elm Street [in Manchester]. They will be looking for feature stories and feature photos wherever they go. They will hear from presidential candidates and cover the other main story—the New Hampshire voters.”
In addition to Dooling and Smith, the students are also advised by Gina Gayle, a COM associate professor of the practice, and Lena Sheehan, COM’s journalism department administrator. “It’s definitely been a team effort,” Dooling says.
The last few weeks have been busy for Sophia Falbo (COM’25), BUNS editor-in-chief, who has been working with her editors and writers for the last month to come up with their game plan. Their stories will consist of profiles of first-time voters, poll coverage, an explainer on how to vote, and live coverage of the candidates’ election night parties.
Fortunately, Falbo already has experience reporting on politics and other breaking news. She covered the midterm elections in fall 2022 with BUNS, was the news editor during last year’s Boston Marathon coverage, and has been a producer and coanchor for BUTV’s Good Morning BU. She has also interned with CBS News.
“I think you definitely have to go in with a game plan, have open communication with editors, and make sure you are checking your phone and email constantly in case there is a breaking news story,” she says. “Professor Smith talked to us about networking opps, the chance to report in the same room as NBC and CBS.”
Dooling says she is in awe of the students’ ideas for coverage—for example, the Daily Free Press plan to speak to college-age voters since that is their readership and their audience. Students will also do takeovers of their respective outlets’ social media channels as a way to further engage readers.
“We hear a lot from the candidates over the course of the campaign trail, and I think the New Hampshire primary is an opportunity for student journalists to talk one-on-one with the voters who are making these decisions about the candidates and get to know where their mindset is at,” Dooling says. “And I think that, paired with the live streaming and the real-time reporting that they are able to do, will produce a really complete and comprehensive package from a really unique perspective.”
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