University of Nebraska – Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications students will be on the ground covering the 2015 State Games of America in Lincoln and Omaha as part of a two-week, intensive course.
The Nebraska Sports Council and the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau are hosting the State Games of America July 28 – Aug. 2. This year’s games include more than 60 sports – a record number – with some sports taking place in Omaha, such as ice skating. A record 18,000 participants from across the United States are expected to come to Nebraska for the games.
Approximately 40 students from all majors are enrolled in the CoJMC special topics class designed to cover and promote the State Games of America The students will cover the games with taped segments featuring athletes and events, as well as live broadcasts of the opening ceremonies and three evening shows. Additionally, the students will be creating social media posts and live tweeting events.
“It isn’t very often that we have the opportunity to put together a class with students from all majors,” said Barney McCoy, associate professor of broadcasting. “It’s a great chance for our students to see what each other do. In this two-week course, they’re going to learn a lot and get a lot of real world experience working together in this fast-paced setting.”
The CoJMC has partnered with CityTV and Lincoln CBS affiliate 1011News to assist with live broadcast coverage. The students will work alongside local broadcast professionals in covering and promoting this real life national sports event. The University of Nebraska at Omaha will provide production facilities for students covering State Games of America events in Omaha.
The State Games of America have been held biennially since 1999. Host cities include St. Louis (1999, 2001), Hartford, Connecticut (2003), Colorado Springs, Colorado (2005, 2007, 2009) and San Diego (2011). The 2013 State Games of America were held in Hershey-Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Under the State Games of America format, all residents of the host state are eligible to participate along with State Games participants from other states who earned a medal in a qualifying event in the two years leading up to the games. The State Games of America will take the place of the Cornhusker State Games in 2015.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/tgxv