(This post is part of the third Carnival of Journalism, hosted by Will Sullivan. Click here to read all the entries.) #

Conventional wisdom said the Democratic nomination process for the 2008 presidential campaign would be over by February 5 – Super Tuesday. Ask Florida and Michigan politicians about that conventional wisdom sometime. #

Despite the rancor that has recently surrounded the nomination fight in the Democratic presidential primaries, college media outlets have been given an opportunity they might not get again for a while. #

With so many late season primaries still contested, students in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Montana and South Dakota have the chance to plan multimedia efforts around a hotly contested political race. #

Most of it so far seems to be video-related. #

You can see it in the live video stream from Hillary Clinton’s speech at the University of Pennsylvania from the Daily Pennsylvanian. #

You can see it in the Temple News videos as campaigners come nearby to solicit votes. Likewise, the Oregon Daily Emerald’s video from an Obama campaign stop. #

And, there’s the Indiana Daily Student’s video efforts on the campaign trail. #

I’m sure there are other students polishing their video chops on high-profile events like these, and likely there will be more as the season goes on – at least through the end of the semester. If you know of other schools who are doing multimedia surrounding the campaign, drop me an e-mail or post them in the comments. #

And while campaign visits are the easiest and “sexiest” events to drag out the video gear, I hope students will take the opportunity to do some further multimedia efforts surrounding the primary campaign. A couple of things I can list off the top of my head: #

• A map of area polling stations for the primaries.
• An interactive guide to where the candidates stand on issues related to college students.
• A central landing page for all your primary coverage – video, audio, text, etc.
• A liveblog of a campus political visit or press conference.

The point being: make the most of the season to add to your multimedia toolkit on an important story. Take advantage of this unanticipated opportunity to cover a primary campaign that still isn’t decided. #

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