From Campus to the Press Corps: LSU Student Journalists Cover First Lady's Visit

First lady Melania Trump's visit to LSU during the LSU-Alabama football game on Nov. 7 not only marked the announcement of a permanent scholarship endowment for students who have experienced foster care but also provided a rare reporting opportunity for members of LSU Student Media. 

During the visit, four student journalists representing The Reveille and Tiger TV were embedded with the White House press corps. Reporters Laura Allen and Danielle Rancifer, photographer Evan Touchet and videographer William "Cooper" Dick provided multimedia coverage of the first lady's announcement of a $7.2 million endowment through her Fostering the Future initiative, her attendance at the SEC football game and her departure from Baton Rouge later that night. 

The students were also part of one of only two local news teams embedded for Trump's entire visit. 
For Allen, editor-in-chief of The Reveille, having a front-row seat to such a high-profile event was a new experience that required extensive research and preparation. 

“I think most of all, this experience has given me the confidence to pursue a career in hard news. Because I am a student journalist, people tend to underestimate the level of reporting I am capable of, but I think the work Evan and I did proved that we are more than able to produce high-profile, hard-hitting news,” Allen said. 

The student journalists faced the challenge of balancing the significance of Trump's visit with the impact the Fostering the Future endowment will have on LSU students. Throughout the day, they used The Reveille's and Tiger TV's social media platforms to produce original multimedia content, providing real-time updates and documenting the visit from start to finish. 

Their coverage included a front-page spread and an in-depth article in the print edition of The Reveille, online coverage featuring the full press conference, a photo album containing more than two dozen photographs and a broadcast story lasting more than two minutes for Tiger TV's "Newsbeat," which also airs on WBTR, a local cable channel. 

For Rancifer, Tiger TV's station manager, the experience of producing content throughout the day reaffirmed her decision to pursue journalism. She described the opportunity as surreal. 

“I thought it’d be at least a decade before I got anywhere close to what I did on Saturday. As a political science minor and journalism major, Saturday was the perfect intersection of what I want my future to feel like, and it just inspires me to keep working hard so I can have days like that more often in my future,” Rancifer said. 

Touchet, a photographer for The Reveille, shared a similar feeling. 

“The entire day was an incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, my favorite part of the day was arriving at the tarmac,” Touchet said. “A Fox News social media manager turned around and asked us if we had ever done something like this before. Naturally, we responded no, so she said, ‘Okay, follow me.’ She swung open the door and ran to the plane. Running with more than 30 different journalists and reporters to one spot to capture and cover the event was the most journalistic feeling I’ve ever had.” 

Working alongside experienced journalists also gave the students a firsthand look at the demands and opportunities of professional reporting. 

For Dick, Tiger TV's executive producer, the experience provided an opportunity to develop skills and connections that he hopes will benefit him as he prepares to enter the workforce. 

“A lot of people in communications won't get the opportunity to be a part of the press pool until much later in their career, if at all. Being able to enter the workforce with that experience puts me in a very competitive position,” Dick said. 
The students' coverage can be found online at lsureveille.com and tigertv.tv.