In the hours before the start of the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump Tuesday morning, journalism and political science students at Point Park University met to discuss the media’s role in covering the news event.

Andrew Conte, director of Point Park’s Center for Media Innovation, tossed out questions to the approximately 50 students in attendance.

They were asked where they received news and information about the trial, how different news organizations were shaping their coverage to attract readers and viewers, and how they would cover the trial themselves. The “Analyzing Impeachment in the Media” event was held on campus.

Diego Febres-Cordero, 26, a public relations and advertising major from Pittsburgh, expressed concern about the kind of hostility shown by Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., toward a member of the media.

When CNN senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju recently asked McSally if the Senate should consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial, McSally responded, “Man, you’re a liberal hack. I’m not talking to you.”

Febres-Cordero said if he were covering the trial, he might be forced to consider concealing the news organization he worked for.

“I don’t know if I would hide my media pass, but I would try to get around the situation where these (politicians) aren’t really talking to the media that’s trying to cover the story,” he said. “A Republican will go to Fox News and only talk to Fox News. A Democrat will go to CNN and only stay on CNN. There’s this environment where people are hostile toward each other. You don’t want that in journalism.”

Michael Dimino, 19, a sophomore history major from Carlisle, said he would look to the past to provide depth in his reporting.

“I would probably go to someone involved in the (President Bill) Clinton trial so we could get some perspective from the last time this happened and have an idea of what to expect, what kind of things are going to be brought up and what’s going to be said,” Dimino said.

Caitlin Wiscombe, 19, a freshman economics and finance major from San Antonio, wants to go to law school and become a prosecuting attorney. She said the American public needs to be reminded that the impeachment trial is based on the Constitution and what this process means for the nation.

“When it comes to the Constitution and articles where they talk about (Trump’s) abuse of power in Article One and then obstruction of Congress in Article Two, a lot of people don’t know exactly what that means,” said Wiscombe. “So, I feel like the public needs a better understanding of that to be able to form a more knowledgeable opinion that’s not based on emotion. The impeachment is based on the Constitution, which is based on facts, not emotion.”

However, many of the students said in a show of hands that they’ve lost faith in the system of checks and balances. When Point Park journalism professor Kelly Wildling asked if any of the students believe the senators are going into this process with an open mind and that it was not an “open and shut case,” some expressed skepticism.

“I think the Senate is not going to remove (Trump) from office, that it’s too controlled by Republicans and I think the outcome is already determined,” said Samuel Williams, 18, a freshman from Butler.

“There are oaths that senators have to take to be impartial but I don’t think that anyone in here believes that they will be,” said Dimino. “Ultimately, to the senators, re-election and being liked within their party is more important than being honest about the evidence that they’re seeing at the trial.”

One of the presenting professors, Nathan Firestone, a Point Park professor of political science who has served as a senior magisterial judge, said the students should have faith in the system.

“The political reality at this time is that the Republicans who were duly elected to the Senate control the Senate and their views with regard to removing the president are fairly obvious,” said Firestone. “Those of us who maybe have a different view certainly can express that, but that doesn’t mean that the system is flawed. It just means that this is the political reality with which we deal right now.”

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