The Bottom Line

Introduction

The Bottom Line is a weekly newspaper that prides itself on being an inclusive learning environment for UCSB students interested in investigative journalism and media. Begun as an alternative to the Daily Nexus, the paper has grown over the years to include a management and editorial staff as well as enlisting almost 40 student writers.

Live Coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions

During Fall Quarter 2012 KCSB News and The Bottom Line news staff and students collaborated to report from the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Two Associated Students staff members, KSCB and The Bottom Line News Advisor Monica Lopez and Community Education Outreach Coordinator Allina Mojarro, and two students, KCSB News Director Bianca Beltran and The Bottom Line Executive Managing Editor Annalise Domenighini, traveled to Tampa, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina to provide remote news coverage of the conventions.  Bianca and Annalise both produced written and audio content for KCSB and The Bottom Line. Monica and Allina Mojarro were on hand to report and engineer the daily remote live broadcasts.

The group spent one week in Tampa, Florida covering events in and around the Republican National Convention. This coverage included protests held in the local Tampa area, and events inside the convention hall. The second week of coverage took the group to Charlotte, North Carolina to cover the Democratic National Convention.

Live remote broadcasts were aired on KSCB daily news for the two weeks of the conventions. The student news reporters covered the events, the social issues highlighted in the protests, and rallies and political issues addressed by the presidential candidates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.  In an exclusive interview, the news team reported live with UCSB alumni, Kitzia Esteva and her mother, just hours after they were released by Charlotte police for their act of civil disobedience in front of the convention.

 

The Bottom Line and the Santa Barbara Independent

In an article entitled “Students Eye View: What’s on Their Minds?” in the Santa Barbara Independent’s “Eye on IV” column, Cat Neushul praised The Bottom Line for their investigative reporting and willingness to bring new perspectives to important issues. In addition, The Bottom Line’s Managing Executive Director Annalise Domenghnini wrote several articles for the Independent as an intern for the local weekly, including two for a “Eye on IV.”