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A group students from UL Journalism are to be deployed as part of the RTE’s election coverage later this week.

The 16 UL students from journalism@ul’s MA and degree programmes will join RTÉ teams on Saturday and Sunday as they produce content for publication across RTÉ’s digital platforms as part of the national broadcaster’s in-depth coverage of the 2024 general election.

The project, a collaboration between the national broadcaster and UL Journalism, saw RTÉ News' Social and Digital Native Content Editor Philip Bromwell assign students to work with reporters and correspondents  at various count centres around the country over the election weekend. 

Mr Bromwell said the students would be an important addition to RTE’s election coverage. “We’re delighted to work with talented journalism students and give them a chance to see at first-hand how we cover one of the biggest news stories of the year. This is the broadest and most ambitious multi-platform coverage of the election that has ever been attempted by RTE.”

Head of Journalism at 51��ɫ and Lecturer in Broadcast Journalism Dr Fergal Quinn says the collaboration is a great opportunity to learn new skills and put the skills they have into practice in a real world environment.  “We are very committed to practical experience as a key part of our students’ journalism education. We’re very pleased to have been able to work with RTÉ on this initiative."

It’s a terrific opportunity for our best students to both experience the democratic process and see the buzz of election count centres, while also building important contacts with politicians and RTE staff that can help them in their future career.