Dugall McConnell '93 is part of a team of MSNBC journalists revolutionizing political news coverage by tracking nearly every move of next year's presidential hopefuls on the campaign trail.
Since August, McConnell has been an embedded reporter — a term previously only applied to those covering the war field — closely monitoring the political development of Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.
Through his day-today interaction with Edwards, McConnell has gained insight into everything from the senator's domestic policy to his personal idiosyncrasies.
"I know that he's a Diet Coke junkie," McConnell said. "He has one when he finishes his 12-minute speech and right before the questioning. He must go through 10 a day."
Unprecedented coverage
Never before have political reporters had such access to candidates.
"We've done something that's never been done before," executive producer for MSNBC's live programming Steve Hyvonen said. "This is the future of news-gathering."
Each embedded reporter will follow his or her candidate until the candidate's bid is over or until he or she wins the presidency.
The reporters will immerse themselves in the campaign, "getting to know the staff and getting to see what makes [the candidates] tick," Hyvonen said.
The new approach will likely be a template for future news coverage, Hyvonen said, because of what he considers the success of the current team.
"Each one of them has gone above and beyond what we have expected so far, and they have all been breaking news on MSNBC," Hyvonen said. "The fact that we have them out there has already made it well worth the effort."
Armed with a small video camera, a laptop and, Hyvonen jokes, caffeine pills, McConnell and eight other reporters are entirely responsible for reporting, interviewing, shooting, writing, editing and producing news segments on their respective candidate for MSNBC's online website.
An embed's life
Aside from daily tasks, McConnell has shuffled from state to state to cover Edwards' various press events.
While he logs countless hours following Edwards in a press van or traveling beside the presidential hopeful, McConnell has also become well acquainted with many Starbucks cafes, bookstores and hotel rooms, where he electronically sends his clips and notes back to MSNBC.
Makeshift offices are part of the difficulties of an embedded reporter on the campaign trail, especially since he is his own crew. A limited sleep schedule — averaging four to five hours a night — and the constant distance from home make work challenging.
McConnell said that, despite the sacrifices, he recognizes the benefits of embedded coverage. Even the lack of cameramen or professional video editors is an unexpected advantage.
"[The online video segments are] not perfectly packaged; it's more of what I saw when I was there," McConnell said. "It's political coverage that is more raw and direct."
McConnell further noted that the up-close-and-personal quality of embedded reporting and the constant attention create better coverage.
"There's an intensity factor," McConnell said. "You're catching all the news; there's a familiarity and mastery to it."
Observing Edwards
Through this magnified lens, his experience during the first few months has already provided him with a better handle on Edwards as a politician and as a human, McConnell said.
From the campaign office to public events and even on the bus, he has observed Edwards in a variety of environments.
"He's a patient person . . . very friendly and a good one-on-one campaigner," McConnell said. Though he is covering Edwards closely, McConnell still upholds his journalistic mission and commitment to impartiality.
"[Edwards] is a nice guy, but I still see him as a political figure," McConnell said.
Though most of the public hears Edwards only in his political speeches, McConnell said that the real trick to getting to know a candidate is through observing him or her directly with others.
"It's not when your candidate is at the podium; it's when they are interacting with people," McConnell said. "Then you can see how quick they think on their feet."
And while McConnell has gained access to many of Edwards' public and private moments, there are still areas strictly off limits to the embedded reporter.
McConnell said reporters are not allowed to follow Edwards on his jogs.
Unlike most people, McConnell has seen Edwards' hair in its natural state, sans styling products. Despite this, he remains impressed by the fact that it takes fewer than 20 minutes for Edwards to get camera-ready after a jog.
"It's a force of nature. It's just a marvel," McConnell said.
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