Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Journalism educators from eight southwest universities and one community college have teamed up to create the Border Journalism Network (BJN)/La Red de Periodismo de la Frontera. The mission of the bi-national network, currently based at the University of Arizona School of Journalism, is to develop a series of innovative educational initiatives for students, faculty and professionals on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The complete list of participants in the network is below.

"This newly-formed coalition of Southwest journalism educators has already begun to improve the teaching of trauma journalism as it relates to covering the U.S.-Mexico border," said Meg Spratt, director of Dart Center West, located in University of Washington's Department of Communication, and facilitator of a recent three-day workshop on border reporting where the coalition was realized. "Each individual in the group brings impressive knowledge, enthusiasm, and creativity to the project. They also care about the emotional and physical well-being of both their student journalists and the people they cover. It's an honor to work with them."

The first initiative of the Network is the development of an interactive website that will provide faculty, students and professionals with teaching and training resources to assist in their work covering the borderlands.

Another effort by the BJN will begin in Fall 2011 with a unique cross-national border reporting project called “On the Line/Al borde,” which will involve student journalists from all member institutions whose multimedia stories will be showcased on BJN’s website (soon to be launched).

“These exciting efforts that really began last October with our first workshop,” said co-organizer Celeste González de Bustamante, assistant professor at the UA School of Journalism. The original workshops and website were organized and developed with support from the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma and partly funded by the Gannett Foundation. The UA Center for Latin American Studies - U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center also supported the spring workshop.

“This second workshop enabled us to put our many of our ideas into motion,” González de Bustamante said. (For a report on the opening session of the three-day border reporting workshop, click here.)

Mexico has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to work, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. For that reason, members of the BJN have focused their efforts on creating educational materials that include the ethics of reporting in the border region, keeping journalists safe and helping reporters and editors cope with the emotional impacts of crises reporting.

“The border, unfortunately, has become a conflict zone,” said co-organizer Maggy Zanger, professor of practice, UA School of Journalism. “We want our students to be able to cover the many vital stories not necessarily related to the drug war, but we want them to be able to do it safely and with respect for the impact of the conflict on the people who live here.”

Border Journalism Network/La Red del Periodismo de la Frontera participants:

• José Luis Benavides, California State Northridge
• Bruce Berman, New Mexico State University
• Lisa Button, University of Arizona
• Ana Lourdes Cárdenas, University of Texas, El Paso
• Laura Castañeda, San Diego City College
• Lourdes Cueva Chacon, University of Texas, El Paso
• Mercedes Lynn de Uriarte, University of Texas, Austin
• Maria de los Angeles Flores, Texas A & M International University, Laredo
• Carolyn Gonzales, University of New Mexico
• Celeste González de Bustamante, University of Arizona
• Kim Newton, University of Arizona
• Jeannine Relly, University of Arizona
• Richard Schaefer, University of New Mexico
• Amy Schmitz Weiss, San Diego State
• Meg Spratt, Dart Center West, University of Washington
• Carol Schwalbe, University of Arizona
• Maggy Zanger, University of Arizona