As Philip L. Graham, the former President and Publisher of the Washington Post, said, Journalism is often described as ‘the first rough draft of history’. On Thursday 4 July, me and some of my fellow Leeds Trinity University Journalism MA course mates – Ben Webster, Lesley O’Connor and Jane Gregory – worked through the night to cover the 2024 General Election, helping deliver the news of Labour’s landslide victory and the Conservative Party’s biggest election defeat in a century. 

Ben was at Channel 4 in London putting questions to the panel of politicians live on-air. Lesley helped cover the Harrogate count for ITV Calendar. Jane covered the Bradford South, East and West counts for BCB Radio. I, meanwhile, was in Haslingden, Lancashire, delivering the results to a variety of media outlets. Having the opportunity to cover such an historic event was not only an amazing experience personally but also a hugely valuable addition to our CVs. 

I am in the final stages of completing my MA Journalism course and currently navigating the world of freelancing, working with Radio News Hub in Leeds as well as assisting a freelance journalist in my local area, Catherine Smyth (of Catherine Smyth Media). The 2024 General Election was my first experience covering a count, but I felt fully prepared for it thanks to the training on politics and government I received on my course with Leeds Trinity’s Centre for Journalism. 

I arrived at the Rossendale and Darwen election count at around 10:30pm and was shown to the press table where other journalists and I set up our tech equipment and familiarised ourselves with the surroundings. There was an immediate buzz in the room which added to my nerves, but knowing I could refer to the hands-on practical experience and skills that I have gained throughout my studies helped me settle. It was also somewhat comforting that several of my friends were in the same situation – we were in it together, despite being in various locations across the country. 

My job entailed live social media updates, taking photos for online publication and delivering the outcome of the vote to local companies. Thanks to my training, I was comfortable and confident conducting interviews with candidates running in the election, gathering high-quality multimedia content and accurately reporting from the event, and under the pressure of tight deadlines. I was really pleased with what I produced and felt it captured the range of emotions of the night. 

Overall, it was an exciting experience and interesting to witness how such an important event is reported on by different media outlets. I learnt a lot from speaking to different people in a very busy room and it was fascinating to be there in person to see the reactions to what happened throughout the night both locally and nationally. 

The experience will certainly help me prepare for similar situations in future and I’m confident my coverage of such events will only improve the more familiar I become with them. For any aspiring journalists like me, I recommend grasping such opportunities when you can.

Tanita Sims is an MA Journalism student at Leeds Trinity University.

Image: MA Journalism student Tanita Sims (left) with Catherine Smyth of Catherine Smyth Media.