Bluegrass, Communists, and Charlie Wilson in a Bathroom: A Look at the Many Faces of the Democratic National Convention

Abstract

During the summer of 2008, the Hinckley Institute was honored to participate in a groundbreaking program in collaboration with Shantou University. Over the course of three months, seven students and three professors from the Cheung Kong School of Journalism at Shantou University in China, and five students from the Hinckley Institute of Politics, traveled throughout the United States to cover the U.S. 2008 presidential election. The students gained different perspectives of each other’s cultures, learned about how the U.S. media functions in election cycles, and worked side-by-side building relationships and learning from one another. From their journey to Denver to cover the Democratic Convention, to Minneapolis for the Republican Convention, the students were published in more than two-dozen major print and broadcastorganizations, as well as a variety of media outlets throughout the United States and China. They had live internet coverage on China News Service (CNS), the most elite of China’s media. In addition to the conventions,students also had the opportunity to travel to Chicago for background stories on presidential candidate Barack Obama, and to Indianapolis for a workshop with the Indianapolis Star and the local television stations. Along their journey they were able to get different views from citizens, staffers, delegates, and the candidates themselves. This article is a brief look into that experience.