Brunel students pull all-nighter for election

More than 50 Brunel University students and staff battled through the night to cover the 2019 general election, as the world’s media came to the campus.

Students gathered interviews and enjoyed table discussions, while others took on the responsibility of filming and producing content for the journalism department’s own newspaper, IKB Insider. Beer, soft drinks and pizza was provided as fuel for those taking part in the long night.

The collaboration between students from journalism, film and TV, politics and history courses meant that teams were strong in all aspects of news production, while giving each other an insight into the skillsets obtained by their fellow students.

Meanwhile, lecturers also joined forces from a range of fields to maximise the potential available on the night, with Rachel Sharp taking lead as head of news, alongside guests such as politics professor Jeffrey Karp and former news analysis editor at the BBC Juliette Dwyer.

James Hardy, a third-year international politics student who assisted in the analysis of the exit polls, said: ‘This was a wonderful experience to be a part of, and witness unprecedented history whilst being in the middle of it all.

‘Experiencing the frantic newsroom as the surprising exit polls came out, and trying to interpret that into what it really means, was truly valuable and allowed me to put into practise what I was taught in the lecture halls over the years.’