Working from 10pm to 6am, staff and students kept RadioLaB, the University’s community radio station, listeners up to date with all the breaking news from counts in Luton, Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes as well as securing live interviews with candidates such as Iain Stewart MP and Gavin Shukar.

Third-year Broadcast Journalism student, Karolina Komada, said: “Hosting the General Election 2019 coverage was a true learning experience. I learnt so much about the frantic nature of making live radio news. It wasn’t always easy but I had a great time.”

RadioLaB Coordinator Terry Lee said: “What was really lovely was seeing and hearing the students learning as the programme went on. By the end of the eight hour shift they were really masters of the craft, guiding listeners through the story of the night of 2019 General Election. A great night for RadioLaB.”

Serene Muhammed, third-year Broadcast Journalism who spent the night at the Mid Bedfordshire count, said: “It was a fascinating experience being at the Mid Bedfordshire Count, where I was also working for Sky News. It was great knowing who won first, and experiencing how election counts work.”

Great to see so many members of the press here tonight - thanks for coming out (and helping us get through all these sweets) @itvanglia @BBCLookEast @lutonnews @RadioLaB971fm @SkyNews @BBC3CR 👍 https://t.co/U1NXDzkALB

— Luton Council (@lutoncouncil) December 13, 2019

Media Performance student Jack Martin also got involved by helping Sky News with their results coverage. Jack reported on the results of constituencies in St Albans, and Hitchin and Harpenden.

Jack said: “I’m keen to get into the media industry so I saw it as a golden opportunity to network and be a part of something huge. I had several rehearsals with Sky in the run up to the election and rehearsed from home, with the camera kits set up as if we were at the actual count location.

“They sent us pretend results and we had to present these to the camera while Sky News also carried out a mock results programme. It was fascinating learning how such a huge event is covered by a news channel.”