On October 4th a public debate for all Provincial candidates for Prince Edward-Hastings was held at Loyalist. Organized by the Media Studies Journalism faculty and students at the College, the agenda was guided by community input. Individuals were encouraged to attend the event, and to take advantage of the opportunity to review the issues and to send questions or comments in advance by visiting http://qnetnews.ca. It was the last public debate to host all the candidates before Voting Day on October 6th. The College’s Integrated Newsroom offered many ways for the public to participate by using leading edge technology, including the live blog software ‘Scribble Live,’ enabling those at home the chance to discuss what was being said on stage. First-year students were out in the community talking to voters, encouraging them to ask questions. The questions were sent by text message for candidates to answer. People also followed on Twitter and Facebook. Students and the public were able to see the many ways exciting new and emerging technologies can be used to help facilitate the democratic process.
