Student journalists get 'scoop' in Italy

For four weeks this summer, 41 student journalists from around the world, including a record 28 from James Madison University, developed multimedia content documenting the people and places of Urbino, Italy, and the surrounding Marche Region. The annual study abroad trip, known as the Urbino Project, is sponsored by the Institute for Education in International Media and JMU’s School of Media Arts and Design.

Coached by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, two former Washington Post and White House photographers, and major-television-market videographers and reporters, the students created text, photos and video, and learned how to navigate as professional journalists in a foreign culture by working with Italian interpreters. They also studied “survival” Italian to learn about the history and culture of the region.

“What really stood out to me was the nature of the program,” said SMAD major Meredith Kipp. “It was rigorous, fast paced, and to be done in an incredibly short amount of time. At first, I thought the task of putting together a video, a photo story, and a 1,000-word or more text piece in four weeks was unrealistic. But the encouragement and support that I received from my peers and professors allowed me to do the task and do it well. I was challenged in more ways than I had anticipated, and by the end of my study abroad experience, I had something great to show for myself. I think that’s something super unique to the Urbino program.”

Sixteen students produced long-form magazine stories with text and photos while six students from JMU worked on the creation of a promotional video. Their work is featured at http://2014.inurbino.net/.

Urbino Project 2014 faculty recognized 10 students with “Raffie” Awards, named for Urbino’s most famous former citizen, the artist Raphael.

This summer was the fourth year of JMU’s involvement in the Urbino Project. JMU student participation in the program has more than doubled during that time.

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