Toward the end of the summer of 2019, a group of undergraduate students from UMass Amherst found themselves reporting on one of the most controversial topics of the day: the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela .

From August 19–23, journalism and political science students participated in the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Journalism Bootcamp. This demanding, experiential program connects participating universities with valuable resources that educate budding journalists, legitimize news reporting, and enrich the field of journalism.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation announced $80 million in grants awards in April 2019 of which CSIS was a recipient. This award allowed CSIS to expand its journalism bootcamp and extend an invitation to the UMass Amherst Journalism Department .

"I gained a greater appreciation for the importance of journalism in our world, one where, more and more, we need to advocate for justice and access to the information."

“It does give them this opportunity to go to a different city, a different environment like Washington DC – it’s a center of action in the United States and a lot of students have not had the opportunity to go down there,” said Rodrigo Zamith, assistant professor of journalism. “So this was a chance for them: A, to go there; B, to interact with think tanks which is important to any kind of policy reporting."

Zamith and Brian McDermott, department chair and senior lecturer, considered multiple factors when deciding on the topic of Venezuela. They wanted something that aligned with UMass Amherst’s institutional mission of social and humanitarian justice, but also a major global news subject that wasn’t getting the attention it deserved.

The crisis in Venezuela is so nuanced and so devastating, a Harvard Kennedy School of Government professor described it as “the biggest economic collapse in human history outside of war or state collapse."

Because of the broad scope of the issue, students were able to use it as more of a framework in which they’d create their own original take on a story.

"Once they were there and learning about the work think tanks do, they had the opportunity to engage in some really serious and rigorous reporting," said Zamith. "I was actually kind of surprised by how in-depth that camp went.”

Students were given choices of production areas they’d focus on for the week, like data visualization, web graphics, and audio. Once in DC, they spent the bulk of their time learning from experts, conducting research, participating in breakout sessions, and preparing a final presentation to be delivered at the end of the week.

"It really did make an impact. It shows you the different pathways there are, especially in this very contentious field.”

In just five days students had to synthesize the complexities of the Venezuela crisis, formulate a narrative, experiment with graphics and design, and create a multimedia news article that was accurate and affects change. “It’s one of the best weeks I’ve had as an undergrad at UMass,” said Caeli Chesin, a senior Journalism and Spanish double major. “We’re definitely leading a new path of journalism. Sometimes we don’t know what it’s going to look like.”

Chesin worked on audio production where she was able to combine her passions for storytelling, investigating, and connecting with people in their community with a love for podcasts. She listens to The Daily every morning, a news podcast presented by The New York Times, and enjoys multi-episode sagas like Serial and S-Town. Podcasts have emerged as major sources of news and, according to the Pew Research Center, there's been a tremendous growth in users .

The audio team collaborated with others but it didn’t always go as planned. Sometimes the facts and analysis would take the narrative one way, only to have it move in another unforeseen direction; sometimes teams would overlap in their reporting, so they’d have to find original approaches and seamlessly integrate their ideas.

"The biggest thing that this bootcamp highlighted to me was the dynamic and increasingly collaborative nature of journalism," said Mohita Abbaraju, a senior double-major in Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Journalism, who also worked on the audio team. "Putting the story together took so much planning and communication within and between groups. Good journalism requires a passion for working with other people and learning new skills and information. I gained a greater appreciation for the importance of journalism in our world, one where, more and more, we need to advocate for justice and access to the information."

They conducted interviews, translated quotes, and embedded voiceovers to convey information straight from the source: Venezuelans on the ground. Eventually, one large podcast turned into four more digestible ones. An entire day’s work was followed by dinner as a group, and often more work late into the evening, with some sightseeing sprinkled in. It was hard work but, like any difficult endeavor, worth it in the end.

“Throughout the week I was blown away by my classmates,” said Chesin. “It makes you want to work with people in a setting where everyone’s passionate. We were all into it. We all brought something to the table.”

Zamith notes that journalism students are required to declare a minor which allows them to study the mechanics of journalism and apply those to other various areas they want to learn about. The CSIS bootcamp builds on that idea, offering students different avenues down which they can steer their journalistic aspirations.

“I hope this program continues,” added Chesin. “I’m going to be graduating next year but it really did make an impact. It shows you the different pathways there are, especially in this very contentious field.”