UNC students to debut international journalism project next Tuesday

UNC students enrolled in MEJO 584: International Projects traveled to Puerto Rico during Spring Break to discover locals' truths and listen to their stories. On April 25, the journalism class’ insights — such as the extent of the territory’s opioid crisis — will debut in-person and online. 

Florencia Loncán, a student enrolled in the course, said traveling for reporting allows for more effective coverage and a deeper understanding of relevant issues. 

“By getting to go to Puerto Rico, not only are you interviewing people who you could just interview over the phone, but you're seeing them where they are, you're seeing exactly what they're describing, and they're taking you with them,” Loncán said. 

MEJO 584 is a semester-long course where videographers, photographers, reporters and infographic artists collaborate on a documentary multimedia project that is focused on the community they visit during spring break. 

Liana Pinner, the director of global, immersive and professional programs at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media accompanied the students to Puerto Rico. She said this course is important for giving students real-world professional skills and allowing them to experience a different culture.

“Most likely, any student these days is going to be working at some point in an organization that is either going to be covering global stories, or they work with global partners,” Pinner said. “So, it's important for them to get that exposure on how to work in new cultures and environments and with people whose perspective might be a little bit different than theirs.”

Patrick Davison, the instructor for MEJO 584 since 2008, said he has been able to see firsthand just how effective immersive education is. 

“I think it's super important because journalism especially is about problem-solving and coming up with solutions to challenges that you face in active environments,” he said. “If you take students and provide them with the support that they need — but put them in challenging reporting environments — they rise to the occasion over and over and over again.”

The students compiled their work on a UNC-affiliated website called “Isla de Fuerza," which translates to “Island of Strength.” Bella Cankurtaran, another student in the course, said this title came from the commonality of power found in the five story groups that the class focused on: health care, community, governance, environment and power.

A student reporter in the health care group that focused on the opioid crisis accompanied locals in a syringe exchange program, said Caleb Sigmon, another member of the healthcare group. The program travels to areas populated with people who use syringes to inject drugs and provides them with clean needles to prevent infections such as HIV or hepatitis. 

“He got to tag along and watch the needle exchange — watch and witness some serious stuff,” Sigmon said. “So, he talks about that and then he kind of expands to talk about how we got here. He’s tracing back to the opioid crisis and a big theme is fentanyl.”

The opioid crisis in Puerto Rico is made worse by the presence of fentanyl, which he said is also an issue in North Carolina. This cross-culture similarity is one significance of traveling to learn the stories of other places, Sigmon noted. 

Davison said the world is getting smaller as populations become more interconnected. This class forces students to get out of their comfort zones to see the similarities and differences across cultures and regions, he added. 

Loncán emphasized the importance of sharing stories that many people are not aware of. 

“Whether it's Puerto Rico, the Galapagos — where they went last year — or any other place, the idea that these problems are happening in the world and while we may not be very privy to them from home, awareness really does change a lot of things and bring a lot of focus to these problems,” she said. 

Davison said he is always able to see newfound confidence in his class during the students' final presentations.

“The wonderful thing about journalism is that it can make a difference, and there aren't that many professions in the world that can make a difference,” he said. “And, I think students sort of grasp on to that in these projects and gain the confidence that they need to go out and be successful documentarians or reporters or graphic artists or whatever their specialty is.” 

Those interested can attend the class's project showcase at the FedEx Global Education Center at 6 p.m. on April 25 and visit the website once it is live.

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