For the first week of 2008, Iowa was the place to be. Veteran political reporters and Columbia College Chicago professors Suzanne McBride and John O'Neill, along with a dozen journalism and photography students, headed across the border into Iowa for a hands-on, minds-on educational experience.
"Covering the Iowa Caucuses," one of Columbia's intensive J-term courses, was designed to offer students a truly unique opportunity to build their reporting skills on the scene with voters in and around Bettendorf, Iowa.
The students produced news stories and photos during their week in Iowa as they observed and reported on the political priorities and decision-making processes of America's Heartland voters. They also kept this blog, sending stories and images our way, sharing their thoughts, expectations, and experiences as new political journalists with readers in this space.