I decided to change my original idea for my beat. Upon looking closer at what I was really interested in reporting, I decided I want to do a political beat that focuses on current political issues including things like media literacy, public policy, and the 2020 election. I originally wanted to do a beat on education and how different schools in Ellis County were adapting to the new changes with COVID-19. I decided on this beat instead because I wanted to do something regarding politics that would be useful and relevant to college students. A large number of college students have never voted in a presidential election before, and I’d like my beat to have helpful information for those students.

I plan on submitting my first story sometime in the next couple of weeks. After that, I’ll plan on submitting my stories every other Monday or Tuesday afternoon.

• What is the nature of your beat?
  • Political literacy and current political issues
• What are the boundaries of your beat?
  • The current political issues could range from local politics to national politics
• What does your editor expect from you?*
  •  Accurate, unbiased information that is relevant to the reader.
  • How will you handle overlap with other beats?
    • Reaching out to the other writer and making sure we are not covering the same stories or types of stories. If we are, we could discuss how we could both go about it differently to make each story unique.
  • Routine Responsibilities?
    • Doing research on public policy issues, finding helpful resources to provide to students.
  • Which regular meetings will you always cover?
    • The debates (if other students also cover the debates I could put a different spin on it)
  • How many interviews & quotes?
    • At least one or two interviews/story
  • Any live blogs or social media?
    • I might use social media to crowdsource questions, create polls, or allow students the opportunity to share their opinions.
• What topics and issues fall in your beat?
  • Media literacy, political literacy, social justice issues, 2020 election, the current political climate
• Which regular meetings or other events will you always cover?
  • Local meetings possibly
• Where are the gathering places you need to frequent?
  • Various sources online and other news organizations possibly
• Who are the officials you need to visit regularly?
  • Local government officials?