Cronkite News on the Road

This summer, Cronkite News sent teams of student reporters and veteran editors to cover the national
political conventions and the Summer Olympics. Four students weigh in on what the experience was like.

“Being on the convention floor – getting to meet the delegates, figure out story angles and do live shots – was really exciting. We all knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime type experience for us, but what I didn’t realize before was that even the veteran journalists felt that way. You really wanted to take advantage of every moment. Even when you don’t have a lot of sleep, you always wake up excited for the day.”
—Krandall Brantley, about the Republican National Convention

“Through our text campaign to the Arizona delegates and because we had so many reporters on the ground, Cronkite News was able to foster real relationships with our sources. Some delegates started sending us selfies and interesting photos from the ground. For the viewers at home, this meant getting a glimpse into the areas they would never see on TV. They really got a sense not only of the news events relevant to them, but the feel of attending a national political convention.”
—Selena Makrides, about the Democratic National Convention

“We dove right into reporting here in Rio de Janeiro. My first day of reporting we got to go to the Main Press Center and we covered three press conferences.”
On being pleasantly surprised by Rio: “I thought I was going to have such a different experience. So far, everything has been great and the locals have been extremely nice and welcoming.”
—Tyler Fingert, about the 2016 Olympic Games

“Every day is a new experience. Some days are planned ahead of time and I'll have a practice to attend or a source to interview, while other days I wake up in the morning and get assigned a story to turn over for that same afternoon. Due to the nature of our credentials, we get to work on a lot of behind the scene stories which is enjoyable because it's not the typical media coverage. Some of my stories are about athletes with Arizona or Pac-12 connections, while others encompass the Brazilian culture.”
“I’m excited to take some time off from reporting and enjoy the games as a fan. After all, we are at the world’s largest sporting event!”
—Giselle Cancio, about the 2016 Olympic Games

Look for Cronkite News coverage of these events and much more at cronkitenews.azpbs.org.