Students dial up election coverage with Cingular Wireless “Election Connection”
Students create a mobile web log to document the impact of “any time, anywhere” wireless photo and messaging services
(November 1, 2004) — Journalism students at the University of Florida aren’t just learning about news coverage around this year’s presidential election, they are creating news of their own on a customized mobile web log through a partnership with Cingular Wireless.
As part of Cingular Wireless’ Election Connection program, nine student reporters from the University of Florida are spending this semester examining how the latest wireless messaging applications can help them provide a unique perspective of the 2004 election and report on related happenings on their schools’ campus.
Armed with a camera phone equipped with Cingular Wireless voice and messaging services, students have become “digital reporters,” capturing the sites and sounds of the 2004 Presidential Election campaign--ultimately showing its impact on fellow students, faculty and those in the community.
“It has really been exciting to see the students use the Cingular Wireless camera phones to report and tell stories,” said Lynda Kaid, Professor of Telecommunication with the University of Florida, College of Journalism and Communications. “They have become ‘embedded reporters,’ unobtrusively placing themselves in situations and getting inside stories without a lot of intimidating crews, cameras, microphones or lights. With mobile technology, they don’t change the event just by being there to report.”
The student journalists simply snap a photo with their camera phone, text message a brief story or caption via Cingular’s Mobile Multi-Media Service (MMS), which then wirelessly posts them to a mobile web log, known as a “Moblog,” in almost real time!
The compilation of pictures and stories create a mosaic of various moments in time captured through the unique perspective of the college students. The moblog can be viewed at http://uf.textamerica.com.
The graduate and undergraduate students each lend their own personal touch to the moblog through their individual experiences. The students are members of the Florida chapter of Uvote, a national nonpartisan organization that aims to increase youth voting and civic awareness. Led by Professor Lynda Kaid, students Jessica Lokaj , Abby Hendren, Jennifer Ambler, Monica Postelnicu, Drew Bagley, Camilla Hostrup Larsen, Kristen Landreville and Sarah Urriste began covering the election in early October in an effort to learn more about the process of creating dynamic and interactive media for non-traditional media outlets—specifically through the use of mobile devices.
“We are thrilled to be working with the University of Florida on the Wireless Election Connection program, which is engaging America’s youth in the political process in a more meaningful way while encouraging the students to think beyond traditional news reporting,” said Dan Norman, vice president and general manager, Cingular Wireless-North Florida. “By using wireless phones and the Internet – technologies that are second-nature to students – our teams of wireless correspondents are able to experience first-hand how this technology can help them capture and file election news as it happens. At the same time, they give a voice to the issues that are relevant to young Americans.”
The Wireless Election Connection moblog combines the scope of print journalism with the immediacy of electronic journalism and illustrates the possibilities and the future of news. And, unlike many blogs, the Cingular-sponsored moblog adheres to the highest traditional journalistic standards providing objective coverage of the political events. In addition to the semester long program, which is managed by Textamerica (www.textamerica.com) with the assistance of Cingular Wireless, students are also participating in a two-day national mobloging session, where pictures and stories will be filed by some four schools. This concentrated reporting session is taking place on November 1 st and 2 nd. Cingular Wireless' all-digital GSM/GPRS network provides the backbone for its voice and advanced wireless data services.
The Campaign for the University of Florida