Kent State University - School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Hipsman at Dem convention . . . in Denver . . . teaching RPA class . . . in Franklin Hall

Students in Kent JMC's Reporting Public Affairs course participated in the Democratic National Convention media coverage through an innovative partnership with a Colorado news organization and cutting-edge technology.

Barb Hipsman, co-instructor of the RPA class with Gary Hanson, linked through a Mac notebook computer with students in the class from the convention floor in Denver.

Students were able to talk with Fox Business Channel anchor and former Clevelander Adam Shapiro through the live connection.

Hipsman was invited to Denver by the Rocky Mountain News to work in its newsroom during the convention. She provided live coverage from the event for the Rocky Mountain News through Twitter.

A week later, three broadcast news majors from the same class reported from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. They worked as employees of a major news network.

“It was remarkable that Barbara was on the convention floor with a $2,500 notebook computer, providing the same coverage to her audience of students right next to the CNN crews, with millions of dollars in resources, providing the same experience for its audience,” said Hanson, who ran the course in Franklin while Hipsman was in Denver.