Swinburne to co-host student-run election night radio broadcast

Swinburne is co-hosting a student-run election night radio broadcast on 21 May 2022.

The broadcast is in partnership with the Community Radio Network and will be aired on community radio stations across Australia as well as online via SwinRadio’s webstream at our online student publication The Standard. 

The AMDC301 lecture theatre at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus will be transformed into an election broadcast studio on the evening. It will be a hive of activity as we find out who will lead the country for the next three years.

The event will not only feature Swinburne journalism students but students from universities across the country under the banner of The Junction. The Junction is a publication that showcases the best university student journalism from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific and allows universities to work together to produce impactful and creative reportage.

Students will host the broadcast, crossing to reporters at key electorates across the country. A student analysis team will crunch the numbers and a social media team will be updating audiences online.

“I’m super excited to contribute this weekend, working with a team of my peers across the country to bring coverage of the election and analysis of critical issues to a national audience from a student and community focused perspective,” says co-host of the broadcast and Swinburne Journalism student Jack Crnjanin.

“The team has been working hard to construct the coverage and I’m looking forward to the evening. Many of the team are new to broadcasting and political reporting so this is going to be an invaluable experience for us all.”

All up there will be a team of around 40 students working on the broadcast, supported by journalism academics.

Head of Journalism and Executive Producer of the coverage, Peter Marcato says, the project is a great example of providing real-world industry experiences for students.

“This broadcast is allowing our students to participate in the making of history and picking up valuable skills. It’s great that Swinburne is hosting this broadcast and I’m looking forward to welcoming students from universities across the country who will be working together to bring the news of the election to listeners across the country.”

The broadcast will run from 7-11pm. The students will broadcast for around 30 minutes each hour with the remaining time to come from the Community Radio Network team, including reporters who will be on the ground with the two leaders on the night.