WASHINGTON – Howard University student journalists have been selected to report on this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Vice President and Howard alumna Kamala Harris (B.A.’86) is set to make history as the first Black woman to receive a major party presidential nomination.

Journalists from The Hilltop, the nation’s oldest collegiate Black newspaper, and from the Howard University News Service (HUNS) will interview delegates, alumni and local Chicago residents. They will document events alongside thousands of fellow credentialed media professionals from across the country and around the world.

Associate professor Jennifer Thomas and assistant professor Christine McWhorter, Ph.D., from the Department of Media, Journalism and Film at the Cathy Hughes School of Communications will supervise the coverage. Student journalists said they planned to use the opportunity to learn more about how the Democratic Party plans to confront and resolve its internal division, learn more about the party’s position on the situation in the Middle East and document the groundbreaking nature of the occasion.

The student journalists are:

• Skyler Winston, a journalism senior from Brentwood, California, is completing a summer internship with KTVU Fox 2 in the Bay Area, and serves as the News & Politics editor at The Hilltop.
• Trinity Webster-Bass, a senior in the Annenberg Honors Program from Jacksonville, Florida, is completing a summer internship with The Washington Post, where she produces episodes for The Post’s daily podcast, “Post Reports.”
• Trinity Kinslow, journalism senior from Nashville, recently completed a summer internship at Howard University’s Center for Journalism & Democracy.

Students say they are eager to report firsthand on convention issues, with a focus on those affecting the African American community and young people. Participating in convention coverage represents a full-circle moment for Thomas, who covered the 1996 DNC in Chicago as a network producer.

“It’s a bit surreal realizing that 28 years have passed since I first covered the DNC in the Windy City,” Thomas said. “Howard University student journalists have a unique opportunity. Their previous experiences from covering stories here in the nation’s capital have uniquely prepared them for this event.”

McWhorter agrees. “The DNC is not just an event; it’s an unparalleled opportunity for our students to witness history in the making. We’re thrilled to provide them a front-row seat to the political process and a chance to tell the stories that matter.”

Department chair and associate professor Ingrid Sturgis says that student media coverage at Howard University is part of the Election Project series, which has trained journalists through real-world election coverage.

“As a professional journalism program, we have covered national, regional and local elections every election cycle,” Sturgis said. “We previously have led our students in the coverage of the 2016 Republican and Democratic national conventions.

“This year, we are among other university journalism programs who are doing the same thing. Students learn about the civic process, learn how to cover important issues on deadline and gain confidence in reporting and writing alongside other professional journalists.”

The Howard University journalism program receives regular recognition as a top program by USA Today, College Factual, U.S. News & World Report and the National Association of Black Journalists, among others. Journalism alumni include Pulitzer, Peabody, Emmy, Hearst, Society of Professional Journalists and National Association of Black Journalists award winners.