Tied to the Virginia General Assembly, the everyday life of some Mass Comm students has a dose of state politics. Capital News Service (MASC 475) student reporters cover the legislative session for a number of media outlets across the state. Associate Professor Jeff South leads the class. He says CNS is as professional as established news organization.
“CNS is an opportunity for students to compete against the 'big dawgs' at the Capitol – The Washington Post, the Associated Press, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Virginian-Pilot,” South said.
“CNS students go head-to-head with veteran reporters in covering the top stories – the state budget, for example, and proposals to ban smoking in restaurants. In my opinion, the CNS reporters often beat the pros – in part because the students look at what's happening in the General Assembly with a fresh set of eyes. What the students may lack in experience, they make up for in enthusiasm.”
Graduating senior Suzanne Hoyle spends an average of two hours a day working for her client newspapers.
“To me, CNS has been a great learning experience in helping me to build relationships with local officials,” Hoyle said. “I feel like this is a learning experience that I can take with me into the real world.”
Hoyle said she usually focuses on one story at a time until it’s ready to file to CNS copy desk. Hoyle has been assigned to cover the GA for the Petersburg Progress-Index and the Smithfield Times. She said that the editors she has communicated with have also enhanced her experience in CNS.
“The most valuable thing (I’ve learned) is working with
Former CNS reporter and copy editor Patrick Kane said the class helped him to not only become a better reporter, but also open up to people.
“CNS showed me how much I enjoy the action and drama of
Kane, who is now staff writer at the Petersburg Progress-Index, covered two legislative sessions. He said that even in his current job as a reporter, the CNS experience comes in handy.
“At our small daily, we can't keep a reporter at the legislature,” Kane said. “However, my knowledge of how everything works in
The class is in session while the General Assembly is, starting every January. For three upper-level Mass Comm credits, CNS student reporters gain hands-on experience and portfolio clips from newspapers from all around the state.
The client list includes the Washington Examiner, Richmond.com and Rappahannock News. The class enrolls an increasing number of students every year with a record of 23 students, including a multimedia producer and a graphic artist this session. A new aspect of the class is multimedia.
“This year, CNS made its first serious effort to branch into television reports and multimedia news, such as slide shows and podcasts,” South said. “You can see CNS on VCU InSight, the school's public affairs show on PBS. I hope we'll be doing more of that in the future.”
For a second time this year, the
Close to the end of the legislative session, Hoyle now says she found CNS to be easier than she had initially thought.
“With the guidance of the professors, I knew exactly what needed to be done, which made it easier than I expected,” she said.
Kane’s advice to future CNS reporters is be consistent and start laying the groundwork for their reporting early.
“Spend time at the Capitol early and often,” he said. “Have the relationships with the lawmakers you will be following solidly in place before school starts, so you have a good head start.
“Also, follow a handful of bills that you can write about again and again as they progress through the lawmaking process.”
