About The Project
One of our reporters, Jessie Lauck, was among the 11 people identified at the "Die in" demonstration protesting COVID-19 reopening protocols in 2020. Lauck was covering the protest for the student run television station, UMTV. After receiving the email from the dean requesting a zoom meeting, Lauck was struck with the same curiosity her fellow students had, how were we identified?
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By the end of the academic year, a broadcast journalism teacher, Boriana Treadwell, approached members of UMTV with idea of submitting an investigative pitch to the Poynter College Media Program. Lauck decided to submit a pitch for investigating the possible use of facial recognition on campus, while exploring the greater impacts of such a technology. This pitch was among seven chosen to receive training and grant money from Poynter to pursue for the fall 2021 semester.
Meet the Team
Jessie Lauck
Jessie Lauck is senior studying broadcast journalism at the University of Miami. She has been a member of the University's award-winning, student-run television station, UMTV, for four years. There, she served as executive producer for the headline news program, NewsBreak, and the entertainment show, Pulse. She also also been a associate producer, reporter, and political analyst for the live news program, NewsVision. Currently, Jessie is on UMTV's executive board as the special projects coordinator. Summer 2021, Jessie interned at the Wine Spectator magazine, and she now works for the Poynter Institute of Media Studies as a producer for the WriteLane podcast. She hopes to work as a reporter with a focus in political or legal journalism.
Clare O'Connor
Clare O’Connor is a senior studying broadcast journalism at the University of Miami. She was a news intern at the NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas over the summer. She served as a digital host and producer, creating her own social media series. Clare is currently a reporter and anchor for the live news program for her university’s television station. For the past 4 years, she has served as a digital producer, digital reporter and executive producer for the award-winning television station. She hopes to continue with digital reporting and producing after graduation.
Jesse Lieberman
Jesse Lieberman is senior studying economics and finance at University of Miami. Before coming to UM, he attended Shoreline Community College where he was the sports editor for the school paper and a member of the school’s economic research group. At UM he has served as the treasurer for UM’s chapter of Tau Sigma National Honor Society and the news editor for the Miami Hurricane. During his time with TMH, he became the most read reporter in the history of their website and broke stories that got national attention. His stories included breaking the news of a racist cop performing overtime work at UM’s medical campus, the firing of UM’s law school dean and surveillance of protestors by UM administration. Outside of journalism, Jesse has worked various roles in healthcare, Forex trading and insurance. Currently he writes for the Miami Herald as a news intern. Following graduation, he hopes to pursue a career in investigative journalism and eventually start his own business.
Maya Broadwater
Maya Broadwater is a junior at the University of Miami majoring in broadcast journalism with a minor in political science. She is a lead reporter and technical director for UMTV’s NewsVision, a weekly live news show covering local, headline, and campus news. Maya currently serves as the secretary for UM's chapter of National Association of Black Journalists. Over the summer of 2021, Maya worked for NBCUniversal as a TODAY Show intern and in the spring of 2021 she served as a College Associate for Fox News. Currently, she works for the Poynter Institute as a Campus Correspondent where she conducts nationwide virtual seminars for college students to teach them digital media literacy skills. In the future, Maya hopes to be a producer for a major news network or digital media company.
Patrick McCaslin
Patrick McCaslin is a freshman, Foote Fellow and Singer Scholar studying political science, economics and mathematics at the University of Miami. He writes for the news section of The Miami Hurricane and aspires to be an investigative journalist.