WASHINGTON – As Americans head to the polls on Nov. 3 in an election year like no other, journalism students and faculty in the Department of Media, Journalism and Film in the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University have created the 2020 Election Project to report first hand on all of the issues, particularly those pertinent to the Black community. While the coronavirus pandemic has forced students to transition to an online format, they will still take part in comprehensive coverage of the presidential election and the numerous congressional and down-ballot races.

The students’ work is being showcased on the Howard University News Service (HUNS) website, which partners with more than 200 Black press outlets across the country through the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NPPA). The students are being supervised by the award-winning journalism faculty in the Department of Media, Journalism and Film. This year’s project is being led by Mark Beckford, assistant professor of journalism.

“The 2020 Election Project from the journalism sequence is the culmination of planning and hard work from our students and faculty. In an era where there are so many defining issues – pandemic, racial tensions, a stuttering economy among others – it is essential that our students are on the frontline documenting history as it happens,” said Beckford. “Our partnerships as well will help them to gain exposure and experience that will be beneficial. Please tune in and follow us on this journey of telling the story of November 3, 2020.”

The students taking part in the 2020 Election Project will also receive exposure from Howard’s PBS affiliate, WHUT-TV, with their work broadcasted to more than 2 million viewers in the top 10 Washington, D.C. metropolitan area market. WHUT has already been broadcasting several of the senior capstone NewVision journalists’ stories on issues relating to the election.

The project is also partnering with The Ronald Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center at Howard University and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) for the Ronald Walters Election Day Command Center. Student journalists will be embedded with the command center, which monitors the protection of the Black vote by supplying data to reporters around the country. The project is also collaborating with Washington’s WTOP News radio station, which is showcasing election coverage by student journalists at Howard University, The George Washington University, American University, and the University of Maryland College Park.

The Howard University Election Project has been training journalists on pivotal election coverage since 2008. Students and alumni are Pulitzer, Peabody, Emmy, Hearst, National Society of Professional Journalists, and National Association of Black Journalists national winners. The journalism program has been recognized as a top institution for journalists by USA Today, College Factual, U.S. News & World Report, and National Association of Black Journalists.

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About Howard University 

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 70 Fulbright Scholars. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu   

Media Contact: Imani Pope-Johns, Imani.popejohns@howard.edu