The US Election night took place overnight on the Talbot Campus, this was many different students from the media and communication faculty here at Bournemouth University.

Before, I put a lot of research into the election, as I needed to know a lot of information to be able to accurately report on this. I looked at both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ policies and what each view each party had as well as some of the history of how previous states voted in the election.

My role in the night was a part of the big board team. We were responsible for showing the map of the United States of America, and updating this as the polls were coming in.

 I was also a part of the team who was working on the gallery which meant I was controlling the autocue. After finishing our bulletin I would go in and help make the scripts for presenters to read live on air and of course, keeping an eye on any breaking news.

The gallery was responsible for the show running smoothly, there was a director who was in charge of the show and others who would talk to the presenters through headsets as well as floor managers and camera directors. I hadn’t had the opportunity to learn these skills yet and I was able to get a really good understanding of the autocue.

Throughout the night, the team and I were updated on the votes coming in from each state and updating our audiences on what was happening in each state and when the votes were being counted.

Journalists also were reporting live and uploading it to the online publication as well on our Buzz online and social media accounts.

We went on live on air every hour from 12 until 5, this was such an amazing experience as I was controlling the autocue for all of the presenters to read throughout the show and working on writing scripts quickly and getting them on air.

Later on in the night, I was able to present live, which is something I have never done before. As a student journalist, this was such an amazing opportunity as I have gained experience in politics and gained the confidence to be able to speak in front of the camera live.

Looking back now, I was able to gain such amazing work experience for this as I was able to try a variety of different roles and practise pretty much all areas of journalism I have learnt here at BU. I improved my broadcast writing so much as I had tight deadlines to meet in order for the show to go on air at the correct time.

Find out more

US elections microsite