Lincoln, Neb., Dec. 18, 2002--While most college students are enjoying a much-needed, post-holiday semester break, nine students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications will be engaged in an intense fact-finding mission to Cuba.
The 11-day trek is part of the college's depth-reporting class in which dozens of students competed for the chance to be among the seven news-editorial and two broadcasting students selected for the Cuba reporting team. Since August, they have been doing background research and examining topics they will explore during the Jan. 1-12 trip to Miami and Havana. Once home, they'll use the spring semester to put together a 75-page magazine and a broadcast documentary on the people, culture, government, economy and everyday life of Cuba. A special focus will examine the 43-year-old U.S. embargo of Cuba and whether eliminating it would benefit Nebraska farmers and cattle ranchers.
The project is as unique as it is exciting for the students and the college, according to its dean.
"As far as I know, an undergraduate college reporting trip to Cuba has never been done before," said Will Norton, dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. "It's a print and broadcast media convergence by students in a Communist country, and a prototype experience of taking one topic, in this instance, a country, and 'blowing it up,'" to examine every news angle imaginable.
"This is something our students are really excited about," Norton said. "We're doing things here that other journalism schools aren't, and it's journalism at its best."
The depth-reporting class has been a strong feature of the journalism program for many years, with recent projects ranging from a study of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, to the resurgence of the American bison, to the U.S. epidemic of obesity. But this is the first intensive "convergence" on a remote site, and interesting more so because of the political issues and mystique of a closed and isolated country.
Both Norton and Joe Starita, a news-editorial professor and project adviser, had previously traveled to Cuba and found the visit interesting. Since Starita needed a topic for depth reporting and both were now familiar with the procedures necessary to secure travel to Cuba, they decided to make the request. They secured a certificate to travel from the U.S. Treasury Department, which routinely permits visits by educators, journalists, politicians and humanitarian groups. Their travel certificate is good through June 2004. The study trip is paid for by private funds for a professorship and will come at no cost to taxpayers.
For 16 weeks, the student journalists have been enrolled in an independent study class, immersed in an intensive bibliography, videography and discography in order to learn more about Cuban politics, agriculture, culture and music. All of the students have some command of Spanish language, and several are fluent.
Each student will complete three major stories by the end of May for the full-color magazine and the hour documentary. Meanwhile, a "slimmed-down" version of the magazine may be offered to communities around the state to initiate dialogue and feedback for a virtual statewide town hall meeting. Two reporters from Nebraska Educational Television also will accompany the group to provide statewide professional coverage and to mentor and assist the student journalists.
Starita said the travel project will give the student journalists the best hands-on learning available in a tough news locale that even professionals would envy.
"Our job is to do what good journalists do: Illuminate perceptions and shatter stereotypes," Starita said. "Some beliefs held by Americans and others by Cubans are light-years from the truth and so that's our goal, to try and reconcile truth with reality." Starita said story topics include the trade embargo and how it affects Nebraska, how the repressive Castro regime affects everyday life in Cuba, how Cuban-Americans in Florida view their past lives, the grass-roots effort to bring democratic reforms to Cuba and what Cuba will be like in a post-Castro era.
"We as journalists examine issues and try and throw light on darkness and then let the readers or viewers decide. That's our job. Not to editorialize, but to present information fairly and objectively," said Starita.
Although the students have been preparing for weeks for their Cuban trip, Starita and Norton said they may never be fully prepared for the stark differences they will encounter.
"Cubans have been isolated from the rest of the world for decades and they have, perhaps, paid a heavy price for that," Starita said.
The travel itinerary for the group has them leave from Omaha Jan. 1 for three nights and two days in Miami to study the Cuban exile community. There, reporters and editors at the Miami Herald will share their facilities and help the students make connections. From Jan. 4-11 they will be in Havana, where they will study a complex portrait of life in Cuba. They will work with news bureau personnel there, and plan to meet foreign ministers and administrators in Cuba. They return to Omaha on Jan. 12, the day before spring semester classes start at NU.
A list of students participating, by hometown, follows, along with majors and year in school:
Brainard: Cara Pesek, senior, news-editorial.
Lincoln: Melissa Lee, sophomore, news-editorial; Dave Pittock: post-baccalaureate, broadcasting.
Norfolk: Shane Pekny, senior, news-editorial.
Red Cloud: Matthew Hansen, senior, news-editorial.
Sutherland: Lindsey Kealy, senior, broadcasting.
Sac City, Iowa: Jill Zeman, senior, news-editorial.
Salina, Kan.: Sarah Fox, senior, news-editorial and Spanish.
Springdale, Md.: Dakarai Aarons, sophomore, news-editorial.
CONTACT: Joe Starita, Assoc. Professor & Pike Professor, News-Editorial, (402) 472-8280 (jstarita2@unl.edu); and Kelly Bartling, University Communications, (402) 472-2059 (kbartling2@unl.edu)
For questions regarding these releases, contact:
tsimons1@unl.edu
(402) 472-8514, Fax: (402) 472-7825