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Still time to apply! Last spaces still available in all 2024 master classes.
New deadline for Breen & Truthteller journalism fellowships: October 10

Still time to apply! Last spaces still available in all 2024 master classes. | New deadline for Breen & Truthteller journalism fellowships: October 10.

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Journalism | Periodismo

With inaugural leadership from Ginger Thompson, Chief of Reporters at ProPublica, journalism has become an integral part of Under the Volcano’s two-week January residency.  The program views both investigative and documentary journalism as  crucial tools for exposing injustice and misinformation, as well as for highlighting innovative responses to the issues of our time. .

We welcome working reporters committed to telling stories that matter, including applicants writing from or about areas of conflict or crisis. By bringing journalists together across borders in a community that also includes poets, essayists and novelists, Under the Volcano offers solidarity, community, professional guidance and ongoing connection to accomplished peers.

Together, our journalism program and master classes in literary nonfiction embody our commitment to what we call Writing of Witness, and our core belief in freedom of expression.

Who's Who
in Journalism @UTV

GINGER THOMPSON, Chief of Reporters at ProPublica
David Barstow, formerly of the New York Times & Pulitzer Prize winner.
Alejandra Xanic, co-founder of Quinto Elemento, Mexico’s independent incubator for investigative journalism & Pulitzer Prize winner;

Tyrone Beason, senior reporter at the Los Angeles Times;

Alicia Quiñones, coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean of PEN International;

Alfredo Corchado, Mexico City Bureau Chief of the Dallas Morning News;

Angela Kocherga, news director and a correspondent for public radio station KTEP and professor of journalism at the University of Texas at el Paso.

What makes our journalism program unique

Early to mid-career journalists live and work alongside novelists, poets and writers of literary non-fiction, sharing meals, ideas and work-in-progress
Participants brainstorm, source and develop a full investigative piece that takes their voice (and byline) to the next level
While sessions are taught in English, the journalism master class is bilingual and open to working reporters in either Spanish or English
One-on-one mentoring is provided in each writer’s native language
Full and partial financial support is available to qualified applicants (talent + need)
Writers of color especially encouraged to apply

The passion behind the headlines…

Faculty member David Barstow and Breen Fellow Karla María Gutiérrez on why journalism matters.

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Journalism Fellowships

 

We currently offer three full fellowships to our journalism master class—two for Mexican reporters in honor of Robert L. Breen, and the Truthteller fellowship for an English-language reporter. Our Black Writers Matter Fund offers sliding scale support to qualified Black applicants (talent + need)

Recent Work by Our Journalism Alumni

When Deed Becomes Word

Simone Scriven (UTV 2019, journalism) has written a stunning, magisterial piece that traces the evolution of the word ecocide as a term analogous to genocide, a concept that is gradually moving into the world of international law.

Read More »
in their own words

Testimonials

“I got my first Mexico dateline! I couldn’t have done this reporting if not for the help and encouragement of my colleagues at UTV. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Gabriel Sandoval

Queens, New York

“En tiempos oscuros para el mundo, Under the Volcano fue oasis y refugio para mí y mis letras. Ahora me siento parte de una verdadera comunidad de escritura con integrantes de todo el mundo.”

Karla María Gutiérrez

Chiapas, Mexico

“As an independent journalist working on a labyrinthine project, I received invaluable guidance from Alfredo and Angela when I was unsure about the roads that lay ahead.”

Rebecca George

Brooklyn, New York