BETH PALMER writes:
I should know how to write this final blog.
I've been excitedly telling any family member or friend who will listen what I learned during the Covering the Iowa Caucuses class since we returned from the Quad-Cities area January 5.
Before January 3, I never knew how the primary election delegate system worked—or how it led up to each party's national convention—let alone how democratic caucuses tallied support. This knowledge will help me inform people in my life and also help me as I cover politics in the future.
I spoke with one freelance journalist from Chicago who had been sent to Bettendorf, Iowa, and she said she had no idea how the caucuses worked. She said she had been "thrown into it." I can say when it comes to covering presidential primaries and caucuses, I will never be in her bind; the knowledge I obtained is forever ingrained because we were there, we weren't just learning from a workbook in a classroom.
In regards to pure logistics of political reporting, I learned I should have spent more time before the caucuses writing what I could of my story, leaving more time and brain energy to collect interviews in reaction to the results later in the evening. By the time the caucuses ended, I felt mentally drained and had to make an incredible effort to contact sources for reaction interviews.
In a span of three days I also learned how to handle politicians' tough press people. And I learned from my classmates and teachers important questions to ask citizens as well as candidates.
This class epitomized the learning-by-doing philosophy. It was an excellent opportunity, and I got more out of it than I had expected—and I had high expectations.
Beth Palmer is an undergraduate journalism student from Chicago.
