By Jacob Beltran
At the beginning of the semester, plans were set in motion by professors and Mesquite reporters to start an outreach program called Mobile Newsroom.
Because The Mesquite is an online-only newspaper and the student newsroom is a 10-mile distance from Main Campus Building, maintaining a physical presence at both campuses is difficult.
To understand what students are learning in other disciplines, Mobile Newsroom was set up as a face-to-face discussion between Mesquite reporters and students in other classrooms.
Launched out of a concern that the newspaper is isolated from its readership, the Mobile Newsroom allows reporters to collaborate with faculty sponsors who select a forum topic and invite student reporters into the classroom.
Political science students discuss the election with reporters
This semester, as Mobile Newsroom Director, I coordinated the first discussion during political science Professor Christina Suthammanont’s class, POS 4316, American Political Behavior.
The theme of the first Mobile Newsroom, held Nov. 7 after election day, was the effect of uninformed voters on the 2012 presidential election.
Suthammanont and I decided to discuss uninformed voters because this year’s election was full of political attack advertisements in both the presidential and local elections.
In preparation for the course, I picked a date in Suthannamont’s political science course and reviewed the course’s assigned readings in advance of the class.
In the classroom of seven students, I introduced myself and my goals of Mobile Newsroom.
Instead of completely moderating the discussion, Suthammanont lectured on the topic and I chimed in with journalists’ responsibilities during elections.
The lecture included several definitions from the reading that defined how politicians take advantage of uninformed voters.
Suthammanont said it’s dangerous for voters to choose a one party line — democratic or republican — because there may be candidates who do not share the same views as the voter.
History students discuss European views of the U.S. elections
The second forum addressed European views on the United States’ elections during Edward Westermann’s HIST 4318, Europe Since 1914, class Nov. 14.
During the discussion, Westermann’s 24 students demonstrated extensive knowledge on topics that were addressed by U.S. correspondents who wrote articles for newspapers such as The Guardian and Spiegel, Europe’s leading news magazine.
Again, student reporters read the assigned reading beforehand and offered perspectives on editorials and columns.
Mobile Newsroom inspired by newsmakers
The decision to launch Mobile Newsroom came from two online sources, said Communications-Journalism Professor Jenny Moore.
“Our campuses are 10 miles apart and that makes thorough reporting a challenge,” Moore said. “The Mobile Newsroom is a way for student journalists to leave the newsroom and organize readers forums throughout the year.”
Plaza De Armas, an online media outlet that covers politics, business and culture for San Antonio, hosts similar forum discussions between it’s community and experts on a particular subject, Moore said. Reader forums are planned by Elaine Wolf, PdA’s founder and a member of The Mesquite’s advisory board.
Steve Butry, director of community engagement and social media for Digital First Media, also a member of The Mesquite’s advisory council, supported the program and offered suggestions for connecting with readers. Read more
Syllabus connections, course connections
By moderating forums, Mesquite reporters said they gained a deeper knowledge of the material other students are learning in their classes.
Communications-Journalism senior Laura De Leon said the Mobile Newsroom lets student reporters branch out and learn about perspectives being taught in programs across the university.
“It’s one thing to understand that we should get different perspective as reporters,” she said. “It’s another to be in a classroom with other students and hear those perspectives.”
They also received constructive feedback about the format of Mobile Newsroom.
History junior Guillermo Lugo said Mesquite representatives should ask more questions about student responses during the professor’s discussion.
“You needed to interject more,” he said, “something like ‘Let me get more information out of this answer.’ ”
He said it was interesting to hear media students’ interpretation of the topics.
Moore said the sessions went well considering it was the first season of the program.
“With new initiatives, you never know how it will go until you actually get into it,” she said.
Next season, Moore and I plan to host forums as a discussion between outside experts in the field and students in the classroom.
