It’s an assignment that even experienced journalists would jump at – covering election night for a national television network. Three West Virginia University Reed College of Media students are getting that chance while still in school.

The students are in New York City interning for ABC News’ social media department. Tyler Channell, a graduate student from Williamson; Tiet Tran, a senior from Sterling, Virginia; and Shishira Sreenivas, a graduate student from Bangalore, India have been Skyping with journalists from “Good Morning America,” “ABC World News Tonight” and “Nightline” for several months in preparation for the 2014 midterm elections.

“This hands-on real-world experience is priceless,” Sreenivas said. “Being able to observe accomplished journalists like George Stephanopoulos and David Muir covering news that matters to the whole country is very inspiring and motivating.”

All three students have specific roles that have evolved throughout the past three months. Channell pitched the idea of using the social media platform Snapchat during election night, and to his surprise, producers loved the idea.

“On election night I will be assisting ABC News with the launch of their Snapchat account in their Uptown studio,” Channell said. “The goal is to attract a younger audience and to make the show relevant to them. Throughout the day and night I will be pulling images and searching for content to use on their Snapchat.”

Tran has been trained in searching and retrieving data and trending topics relevant to the election from Twitter. He will be providing social media support during election coverage at ABC’s Times Square studios.

Tran said this real-world experience is “invaluable” and “life-changing.”

“The one thing I’m looking forward to the most is experiencing how a big news operation works during election night. It’s truly a dream come true to learn from the best in the business,” Tran said.

For election night, Sreenivas will be working on set alongside the Google Trends team in Good Morning America’s “Social Square” to provide real-time coverage via Google. “Social Square” is a digital studio that engages viewers on a daily basis with the broadcast and social conversation.

Andrew Springer, senior editor for social media at ABC News, worked alongside the students and said engaging millennials in news coverage through social media is crucial to informing the current generation about important issues affecting the country.

“For social media searches, Twitter and Facebook are what people are talking about, Google is what people are curious about,” Springer said.

Teaching Associate Professor Gina Dahlia is the adviser and liaison between ABC News and the WVU Reed College of Media. She said there is no substitution for hands-on experience. Dahlia accompanied the students to New York City and said she appreciates ABC News for providing real-world opportunities to these students.

-WVU-

gd/11/03/14

CONTACT: Kimberly Walker, WVU Reed College of Media
304.293.5726; Kimberly.Walker@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.