Election coverage tends to be quite repetitive. You see pieces done by journalist who follow the candidates around and report on polls and the daily interactions of the candidates or you pick destinations that are critical to the race (i.e. swing states)
Gary Younge, a seasoned journalist from Britian's daily newspaper The Guardian, has chosen a non-traditional way of covering a non-tradtional election. He has decided to come to Muncie, Indiana, for the duration of the election and get the "inside scoop" on how Americans really feel.
This is a 10 part series where Younge is evaluate not just the election but giving historical references to Muncie as well. He is covering up to the election and, at the conclusion, he will have an all-encompossing final piece to sum up his experience in Middletown.
Given that I am a Ball State (located in Muncie, Indiana) journalism student, I could not be more intrigued with Younge and his innovate approach to his reporting. Younge came into one of my class and sat down to talk with Ball State students about the process and ideas that were behind this project.
What is very compelling about his pieces are that he puts a real face on a topic we are all familiar with. Even if you can not stand Donald Trump, Younge's piece "Trump speaks to us in a way other's don't" leaves you with an understanding of why people feel the way they do about him. He is able to tell a story that goes much further beyond the subject.
In class, we asked what was the goal or what he was trying to teach by doing these pieces. His answer was something I did not expect.
He said he was not out to teach America anything. Rather he wanted to show the world what it is truly like here in America. What was reassuring was he found that America, no matter how worried we are about the election, is not any more in trouble than any other country. That was very nice to hear from someone who has a well rounded view.
I am interested to keep up with Younge's piece and it was truly a pleasure meeting him. If you would like to read his work click the link at the bottom of this page. It is nice to a fresh perspective for an election that has many Americans stressed out.
