Student media to cover New Hampshire’s First in the Nation Primary

The student-run Pierce Media Group at Franklin Pierce University will team up with the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication to cover the New Hampshire Primary, taking advantage of the university’s location in the Granite State.

Fitzwater Connections, the political reporting arm of the Pierce Media Group, will analyze and report on the candidates’ messages, their campaigns and the youth involved in the New Hampshire primary.

Franklin Pierce junior and Pierce Media Group Political Director Steven Dodrill of Hanson, Massachusetts will work with students from New Hampshire and Iowa on this first-of-its-kind political coverage by Franklin Pierce students.

Dodrill has been working on these plans since last school year with former Pierce Arrow newspaper Editor-in-Chief, Trent Spiner.

"I can't tell you how proud I am when reports compiled by the Pierce Media Group come up in conversation among reporters on the campaign trail or syndicated on nationally recognized websites," said Spiner, a 2007 Franklin Pierce graduate.

Dodrill believes that the hard work by the Connections staff and long hours they have put in planning will pay off.

“I’m excited for our student media to be able to get a first hand look at the role the media plays in a presidential cycle,” said Dodrill. “I am thrilled to be working with students from Wartburg College and our Franklin Pierce students to make our content recognizable, and help to put Franklin Pierce, the town of Rindge, and most importantly the Fitzwater Center on the map when it comes to politics and media.”

A joint venture between Franklin Pierce University and Wartburg College will utilize students from both New Hampshire and Iowa. Some of the students are a part of the Engaging Students: First in the Nation Program, a collaboration designed to give students the opportunity to experience the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary. Both schools used web cast technology to welcome candidates to Wartburg’s Waverly, Iowa campus and Franklin Pierce University’s Rindge, New Hampshire campus. On New Year's Day, a group of Franklin Pierce University students will journey to Waverly to work the caucuses.

In the days preceding the January 8 New Hampshire primary, the Franklin Pierce University Manchester campus will become a busy news hub for both the First in the Nation Project and the Pierce Media Group.

“We have extended invitations to candidates, campaign workers, and members of the media to visit us at the Franklin Pierce Manchester satellite campus,” said Dodrill. “We want this to be a learning experience for our student media, but we also want to learn from the candidates and the professionals, and continue what we have been doing all year - giving candidates the forum to speak.”