The staff of BUTV’s special post-election show, Beyond the Ballot, during a dress rehearsal at the College of Communication on October 30.

Journalism & Media

COM Students Gear Up for Midterm Election Coverage

BU News Service, BUTV, Daily Free Press, and COM classes will file stories with both local and national angles

As voters across the country head to the polls for the midterm elections, Boston University College of Communication students are preparing for a different kind of November 3: one spent behind cameras, conducting interviews and reporting results as they come in.

Students working for the Boston University News Service (BUNS), BUTV, the Daily Free Press, and various COM courses have been busy the past few weeks producing election coverage. Many have spent the semester following key races and ballot questions, with plans to ramp up their reporting on Election Day.

BUTV’s special post-election show, Beyond the Ballot, airs Wednesday, November 4, and will feature political analysts, journalists, and candidates as guests. But preparations began weeks earlier, with students editing on-the-street interviews and explainer videos that break down ballot measures for the show’s social media channels. 

“We’re finding ways to meet our audience where they’re at, which is typically on their phone,” says co-executive producer Anaya Williams (COM’27). “And using social media as a tool to keep the conversation going beyond our live show time.”

BUTV is building on lessons learned from its 2024 presidential election special, United We Vote. That show won an award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) Boston-New England chapter for Best College/University News Cast, and was named a Bronze Telly Winner in the 47th Annual Telly Awards. 

According to Lehman, planning for Beyond the Ballot began much earlier this election cycle, allowing the team to introduce new elements, including live panels and more expert interviews, including John Harris, cofounder of Politico, Kelly Garrity, Boston Globe political reporter, and Elias Miller (COM’21, CAS’21), a producer on Meet the Press. 

The show also aims to help students understand what’s at stake in the midterms. Although many BU students are not from Massachusetts, Williams emphasizes that the outcomes of this election will undoubtedly shape their time in Boston for the next few years. 

One issue drawing particular interest from college students is Question 8, a proposed law that would reverse Massachusetts’ 2016 legalization of cannabis. To explore its potential impact, the show interviewed a dispensary owner about how the changes could affect businesses and consumers statewide. 

“Telling the stories behind the ballot questions can help make more clear to the audience the impact this election has,” says co-executive producer Maria Pemberton (COM’27). “And that reinforces the idea that your vote is important this election, even if it’s not a presidential year.” 

To prepare its less-experienced reporters, Beyond the Ballot assigned students individual beats, allowing them to develop expertise on specific races and policy issues ahead of the live broadcast.

“Election show time will go by super quick, and things will change very fast,” says co-executive producer George Lehman (COM’26, CAS’26). “We want to have as many subject matter experts in the room to help us write efficiently and with the most up-to-date information.” 

Lehman also serves as the editor-in-chief of BUNS, which he describes as taking “a forefront role” in covering the midterms. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, student reporters have been covering key races across New England. On Election Day, reporters will fan out to polling locations to speak with voters and capture live updates.

“Seeing the passion that students have for this line of work is really rewarding, and I’m glad that I have the opportunity as editor in chief to help oversee our election coverage,” Lehman says. 

Students in Community Video Reporting, taught by Tina McDuffie, a COM associate professor of the practice of journalism, are partnering with the Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN) to report on 26 surrounding communities. Through interviews with residents, elected officials, and candidates, students report on the issues those communities are most focused on.

“The question that we always ask them is, ‘What are you curious about, and how do you think that this is going to impact you?’” McDuffie says. “And that curiosity is often the spark of an interview or a story.”

This year, McDuffie says her class is taking a more hands-on approach to visual storytelling: rather than relying on footage from existing news broadcasts, students are shooting their own video. 

“It’s more original reporting, more original video,” McDuffie says. 

The Daily Free Press, the independent student newspaper, is also pushing out midterm election coverage tailored to its student readership. Editor-in-chief Emma Clement (COM’28) says the newspaper has made an effort to look beyond Massachusetts, recognizing that many BU students vote in their home states—including those with closely contested races. 

Student publications have a unique advantage when covering elections, Clement says, because they can “speak more directly to students about student concerns.”

For example, the newspaper’s latest print edition featured an opinion column titled “Should I be worried about my mail-in ballot?”, addressing the uncertainty some out-of-state students face when voting absentee. Many have expressed fear over whether their ballots will arrive on time and be properly counted, especially given growing public mistrust in mail-in voting. 

“It’s a very student concern,” Clement says. “Sometimes it’s nice to be able to read [the news] and know that the person who wrote this is in a similar boat as you.”

For McDuffie, covering the midterms is also an opportunity for students to become more engaged with the communities they report on. 

“This is our community as well,” McDuffie says. “When you’re a reporter … you need to know what the issues are; not only to report on them, but just to be a more well-informed citizen.”

Tune in for Beyond the Ballot’s election coverage here, and follow along on their social media, too. Follow BUNS’ election coverage on their website, and read the Daily Free Press’s election coverage on their website or in a print newspaper found on campus.