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2 will cover Democratic National Convention for student-run Z-TV
By Carol Biliczky
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Monday, Aug 18, 2008
Becca Gruccio and Jamie Reeves will miss the first week of classes at the University of Akron. But they have a good excuse: They're covering the Democratic National Convention.
The students will join some 15,000 representatives from national television networks, cable channels, newspapers and other media for the four-day convention in Denver that begins next Monday.
They will post their work on ztvnewssource.blogspot.com. PBS Channels 45/49 also will break from gavel-to-gavel convention coverage between 9 and 9:30 nightly to showcase the students for a couple of minutes.
It is the first time UA's radio or TV stations have sent students to such a crushingly competitive event, said Phil Hoffman, general manager of Z-TV. The university's student-run television station broadcasts 24 hours a day to 3,000 students living in UA residence halls.
Kent State University will send one student to the convention — Gavin Jackson, 22, of Silver Spring, Md., who will report for the Daily Kent Stater newspaper and www.kentnewsnet.com.
''Honestly, I got an e-mail about the deadline to apply for media credentials, and I thought, 'Why not?' '' Hoffman
said. ''Being a college outlet, I didn't think we would get approval. But when we did, it became oh-oh, how do we pay for this?''
That worked out — various accounts at UA are picking up the $3,000 tab for the two communications students.
That includes lodging in Boulder, 45 minutes from the Pepsi Center in Denver, where the convention will be unfolding. It's an awkward distance, but cheaper than spending $1,000 a night for a room in Denver, Hoffman said.
Over the last week, he has encouraged Gruccio, who lives in Akron, and Reeves, ofDoylestown, to get in touch with local officials whom they may want to interview in Denver or who may be able to give them a helping hand.
He also set an awesome goal for his students: To get a one-on-one interview with Barack Obama. Both students say they are ready to aim for that ultimate ''get.''
Reeves, 20, already has some experience in how tantalizingly close a reporter can get. In February, she covered the Democratic debate in Cleveland and came ''really close'' to talking to Hillary Clinton.
''I had my hand on her arm, but she wouldn't respond,'' Reeves said. ''But I did get an interview with (Ohio Gov.) Ted Strickland.''
So the students are penning in other stories just in case.
''We've got very, very broad ideas of what we're going for,'' said Gruccio, 21. ''Like daily events, trying to meet with the governor, with the mayor of Akron, to bring back a more local aspect.''
The work will be a challenge, given that past UA newscasts have focused on tamer subjects, like the Exchange Street Residence Hall, deaf students and ways for students to save money.
If they are lucky enough to capture news that other outlets don't get — explosions, shootings, disturbances and the like — Hoffman already has instructed them to call him before turning their video over to other media.
''You need to be prepared to think about what's going to happen if something bad happens,'' he said. That means staying safe but covering the event.
When you come back, you will be a different person, he told them.
Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com.
Becca Gruccio and Jamie Reeves will miss the first week of classes at the University of Akron. But they have a good excuse: They're covering the Democratic National Convention.
Get the full article here.
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