Lights, Camera, Action

Since arriving in Des Moines on Sunday, I have had the opportunity to cover presidential candidates and interview politicians who very well may be the next leader of the free world. During this experience, I have taken a leadership role in the broadcast journalism portion. As a group, we have posted a number of pieces about the events we covered, including a Bernie Sanders event in Perry, Iowa, and a Marco Rubio Republican debate watch party at a movie theater.

What I am most excited that we have already accomplished are our on-camera interviews with Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum and Martin O’Malley. These are politicians that have made real change in their local communities, and in the case of Secretary Clinton, real change in the world.

Elon prides itself on experiential learning, and there is no better definition of experiential learning than what we are doing on the ground here in Des Moines.

I had an incredibly beneficial experience this afternoon, when meeting with leadership of The Daily Iowan, the University of Iowa’s daily student-run newspaper. We spoke to them for more than 30 minutes, learning all about their operation and how they run their newsroom. We even got free T-shirts!

Our coverage of the Iowa Caucus provides a different vantage point than the NBCs and ABCs of the world. We’ve got the college angle covered. With education reform and candidates suggesting "tuition-free" college, it is certainly a topic that deserves our attention.

I am looking forward to seeing Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Mika Brzezinski on (EARLY) Friday morning during a live edition of Morning Joe, from Java Joe’s Coffee in downtown Des Moines. We are also planning to cover a Donald Trump rally in Urbandale Friday morning – something that is bound to be quite an experience.