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11 May 2011 12:29:22
Journalism
students got a scoop during the nail-biting count for the Luton Borough
Council's elections when they accurately predicted huge Labour gains
- long before the first result had even been declared.
During the
marathon overnight count on Thursday (May 5) the students were repeatedly on air
reporting the unfolding events for Radio LaB 97.1fm.
They were given access to all areas during the count, and interviewed both Luton MPs, Luton Council leader Hazel Simmons, candidates and agents from the political parties for the University’s community radio station.
Journalism Lecturer Kate Ironside said the experience of covering a real election count was invaluable for the students, who are using the interviews for their university assessments.
Kate added: “In the process, thanks to our party contacts, the students scooped the professional media to the final prediction of the outcome, based on the sample votes counted privately early on in the night. These correctly forecast the Lib Dem collapse with an almost accurate ward-by-ward breakdown.”
The students also covered the human interest side of the election, including the daughter winning her first election as councillor watched by her proud mum, who herself had been a Luton councillor when the daughter was a mere babe in arms. And the critically ill candidate who won her seat with a massive vote despite having spent the last two months in hospital fighting for her life.
Ten students took part: journalism students Robyn Sach, Sam Store, Shenae Baroo, George Negas, Pierre Imarni, James Spiro and Sami Khayat were at the count while radio students Simon Catt, Conor Hughes and Rob Geary manned the radio studio back at the University's Park Square campus.
Picture shows Council leader Hazel Simmons talking to University
of Bedfordshire journalism students during the Luton Borough Council election
count.
