Elisabeth Malkin
This master class offers early- to mid-career journalists from Mexico, the US and elsewhere the opportunity to look beyond breaking news stories to unpack the root causes behind them.
Taught in English but with manuscript critique and individual mentoring provided in both English and Spanish, this two-week intensive assumes that each participant will complete a 2000-word working draft of a publishable piece or a polished blueprint for a longer work. Freed from the demands of daily reporting, participants will ask not only what or who but why. By exploring situations of injustice and corruption, each member of the group will brainstorm and plan a longer article or series of connected pieces that brings greater depth to the underlhying issues all too often neglected by the news cycles. Some examples: Why do people migrate? Why are women across the world confronting rising levels of domestic violence and femicide? Why is Mexico no longer producing enough corn to feed its people? While focusing on individual projects, this master class will propose a range of journalistic approaches to storytelling aimed at enriching the breadth and depth of the pieces that emerge over the course of our six three-hour sessions. Participants will share and receive feedback from the group as well as individual mentoring from the instructor.
With support from the family of Robert L. Breen, a parallel track to this master class brings distinguished guest reporters and editors to Tepoztlán for conversations on crucial aspects of investigative journalism, such as project design, interview techniques, accessing government archives, protecting sources, the moral issues that arise in covering dangerous or politically challenging leads, and physical safety. Wherever scheduling permits, the Breen conversations will be open to all Under the Volcano participants. A special all-day session on “Covering Conflict” featuring Alfredo Corchado, Gisela Pérez de Acha and Anjan Sundaram will take place midway through the residency, on January 21 under the auspices of the Centro Tepoztlá