WCSU Students, Faculty Wrap Up Live Midterm Coverage

DANBURY, CONN. -- Western Connecticut State University students and faculty members presented three live broadcasts, culminating in a special four-hour election night program on Nov. 6, as part of the university’s award-winning “Election Connection” program.

Now in its eighth year, Western Connecticut State University’s “Election Connection” was broadcast over Spectrum Cable Channel 192, Comcast Channel 97, WXCI-91.7 FM, and streaming over www.wcsu.edu/live, where over 600 viewers tuned in from as far away as Ireland and China. About 500 social media interactions flowed in for the show. Behind-the-scenes videos and recaps of show topics including interviews with award-winning journalists and issues such as health care, immigration, gerrymandering, the role of the press, CT tolls, freedom of speech, and more are available on Election Connection’s YouTube channel, “WCSU Studio Election Connection.”

The program, headed by executive producer and professor of communication and media arts at WCSU, Dr. JC Barone, is a collaborative effort by students, faculty, and alumni of the university to provide up-to-the-minute coverage of local, state, and national elections, as well as reporting and analysis of hot button issues affecting voters.

Anchors providing commentary and analysis included media arts major Jason Ferenczy, of Southbury, and political science major David Kuhn, of Sherman; Dr. Jacqueline Guzda, assistant professor of communication and media arts; John Roche, assistant professor of journalism; and Corey Paris, of Stamford, a 2014 WestConn alumnus. Presenting live voting results and race analysis was journalism major Ryan Yursha, of Danbury. Six teams of students were on the scene at party and candidate headquarters across the state to deliver reports and interviews on election night.

Director and media arts major Samantha Saalborn managed the on-screen and behind the scenes crew of over 40 students, faculty, and alumni. Producers included: Rebecca Burton, of New Milford; Alanna Hill, of Ridgefield; Richard Lee, of New Milford; Leon McIntosh, of Bridgeport; Thais Paixao, of Bethel; and Dion White, of Ridgefield.

Adjunct Professor of Marketing Tom Zarecki and a student team managed the program’s Twitter account, “@ElectionCT,” and its Facebook page, “WCSU Election Connection,” which featured additional stories, interviews, and a behind-the-scenes live stream that showed the production team at work. Pat Carlone, audio engineer at WXCI-FM, joined the sound team.

Following a stellar election night broadcast, this year’s “Election Connection” team is hopeful that it will bring home yet another award from one of a number of professional organizations in the communications field.