As the 2024 presidential election cycle approached, we knew Michigan would be of consequence as a swing state and we knew we wanted our coverage to be just as unique in the landscape. With that, we developed “What The Vote?” – a series that was pitched, developed, reported and produced by a cohort of Gen Z interns, in conjunction with editors at the station.
Six interns – from diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds – put together an impressive array of topics important to their generation: political might of the demographic, the future for young conservatives, political activism in Black sororities, political protest on campus, the future of reproductive rights, and the role of the Uncommitted Movement in Michigan. All topics were meant to help Gen Z understand what their peers were doing during a historic election, as well as inform older generations.
The interns also named the series and promoted it on air and on social media. The series was also featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered” national broadcast, as well as iTV News in London. We found lots of interest from listeners and other newsrooms on the political thoughts and interest of this new generation of voters. To that end, we believe “What The Vote?” represents a unique and substantive take on presidential election coverage and as a public service to engage and encourage a generation to become more politically involved. This is no stereotypical “intern project”—this is hard journalism, complex storytelling, and robust narrative, developed by young professionals.
Below are the podcast episodes and a compilation of promotional videos shared on social media. To see the full web versions, click here.