Medill on the Hill to cover 2016 presidential campaign during Fall Quarter next year
Tyler Pager/Daily Senior Staffer
President Barack Obama speaks in February to a room of reporters at a White House press conference, which Medill on the Hill students covered. Next year, the Washington, D.C. program will move to Fall Quarter to allow students to cover the 2016 presidential elections.
October 19, 2015
Medill on the Hill is moving to Fall Quarter for the next academic year to trail the 2016 presidential campaign.
The quarter-long program, which traditionally brings students to Medill’s Washington D.C. bureau during Winter Quarter, will now move from Winter 2017 to Fall 2016. The change applies to the 2016-2017 academic year, as that fall is election season.
This is the first time the program has moved to accommodate the election, said Ellen Shearer, interim director of Medill’s Washington program.
Students will report on the campaign and results of the presidential race and the congressional race throughout the duration of the program, according to the email announcing the change. The program, which traditionally gives students standard press credentials, will also allow students to join professional political reporters in covering events such as presidential debates, campaign speeches and election night at campaign headquarters, the email said.
The program will focus on issues, including health care, immigration, climate change, the Middle East and the economy, the announcement listed.
The email also said the updated Medill on the Hill quarter is scheduled to begin on Sept. 20, 2016. Applications will be due earlier that year on March 4, instead of on the 2015-2016 year’s Jun. 5 deadline. The program will still enroll its Medill students in two journalism classes and one political science course, for a total of four units.
An informational session will be held next Winter quarter for more details, said Beth Bennett, Medill’s director of undergraduate journalism. The move is part of Medill’s push to expand its breadth in reporting opportunities for its students, Bennett said.
“As we expand in San Francisco and other sites, including globally, we will continue to seek out unique opportunities for our students,” Bennett told The Daily in an email. “We will consider offering more quarter-based or short-term programs in the future for domestic and global sites, depending on undergraduate student demand.”
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