Journalism
Rebuilding Local News
Presenter: Zoe Ann Chrisostomides
Faculty Sponsor: Wafa Unus
School: Fitchburg State University
Research Area: Journalism
Location: Poster Session 4, 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM: Concourse [B12]

Local journalism across the United States is declining, leaving many communities without consistent coverage of local government, education, and civic life. These areas, often described as “news deserts,” have been linked to decreased civic participation, declining trust in the media, and weaker community connections. Research from the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy shows that more than one-fourth of American newspapers have closed, more than half of local journalists have lost their jobs, and over 200 counties no longer have a local newspaper (Ardia et al., 2020). As traditional newspaper coverage shrinks, communities face growing gaps in access to reliable local information. This thesis examines whether community access television can serve as one practical response to these information gaps. Using semi-structured interviews with local journalists, community media leaders, public officials, and residents as its primary methodology, the study explores how community-centered broadcast storytelling may help rebuild civic engagement and trust. The project also includes a six-episode podcast series, Rebuilding Local News, which connects scholarship on news deserts, civic engagement, and media trust with interviews and real-world reporting experiences. Rather than presenting community media as a universal solution, this research argues that public access journalism represents one adaptable strategy that can strengthen local news ecosystems where traditional newspaper coverage has declined. Ultimately, the project suggests that rebuilding local journalism may depend not only on new funding models, but also on collaborative, community-driven storytelling approaches that reconnect residents with their civic lives.
Understanding Journalism for Incarcerated Voices
Presenter: Nicole Ryan
Faculty Sponsor: Mary Jo Shafer
School: Northern Essex Community College
Research Area: Journalism
Location: Poster Session 4, 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM: Concourse [B13]

Incarcerated populations contain voices least represented in journalism. There is access to programs that encourage the incarcerated to both find and use their voices, but there are educational barriers in place. The research explores some of the barriers faced by incarcerated individuals in terms of accessing and engaging in journalism as well as what journalism in particular offers to affected populations. The Prison Journalism Project (PJP) and various prison-based publications highlight both areas of strength and need within incarcerated populations, like the specific needs of women as well as the medically complex. Barriers to journalism for the incarcerated are educational shortcomings, inability to access technology in a way that supports prison journalism and various local, state and federal laws curtailing the rights of prison journalists. The research includes studies on prison journalism, explorations of projects that both encourage and promote journalism among the incarcerated like partner programs at University of California at Berkeley, interviews with people involved in different aspects of prison journalism, and legal information about the laws that create further barriers to incarcerated journalists. This project highlights not just PJP but also San Quentin News, from San Quentin State Prison in California; The Prison Mirror, from Minnesota State Prison – Stillwater; and The Angolite, from Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Correlating Athlete Injuries To Struggling Mental Health
Presenter: Aidan Tarr
Faculty Sponsor: Dustin Christensen
School: UMass Amherst
Research Area: Journalism
Location: Poster Session 4, 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM: Concourse [B14]

As a former athlete of 12 years, I have struggled numerous times through concussions, tears, etc. Usually, these injuries would also bring along a stint of depression, which I have battled on and off with for years now. 

This is not an uncommon occurrence. Bucky Irving, a running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League, missed two games this season following a shoulder injury he was recovering from. Later, he went on to say his shoulder was healed, but he wasn't right with himself because he had been stripped for weeks of the one thing he has dedicated his entire life to. 

Many studies show that stripping an athlete from their respective sport spontaneously and unexpectedly can have similar effect on the brain as PTSD from a veteran or institutionalization of a felon trying to reincorporate themselves into society.

My goal is to create an investigative journalism piece and present it to shed light on this issue, and to gather jarring insight from UMass athletes, possibly professional athletes, and experts in the mental health field.

RELATED ABSTRACTS

Insights into Tomorrow’s Newsroom, Today: Making Sense of AI in the Student Newsroom
Presenter: Grace Chai
Faculty Sponsor: Heesoo Jang
School: UMass Amherst
Research Area: Journalism
Location: Poster Session 5, 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM: Campus Center Auditorium [A79]

This research study examines how student journalists at the Massachusetts Daily Collegian understand, discuss and make decisions about artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism. While studies about how professionals in the industry are adapting to this new technology have begun to emerge, there is little being studied about the next generation of journalists who have grown up with rapid developments in technology. Bringing the discourse of how AI should be used in journalism to the collegiate level, I explore how student journalists in the newsroom make decisions about AI, whether their chosen beat or expertise influences their perspective and what boundaries students, especially student leaders, are enacting to protect journalism's integrity. This study aims to directly benefit the Collegian by providing information on what its members think about AI and how it should be used. The report would inform a comprehensive AI policy for the newsroom, as one currently does not exist. Through the data collected from interviews, this study will spark conversation about the pressing issue of how AI should be used in the newsroom while protecting journalistic integrity and agency. By bringing the issue of AI to the forefront of the college newsroom, I hope to start a much-needed discussion about how we can approach a tool that has potential and pitfalls that have yet to be discovered. 

UMass Housing Problems and the University and Community's Struggle to Define It
Presenter: Dylan Podlinski
Faculty Sponsor: Heesoo Jang
School: UMass Amherst
Research Area: Journalism
Location: Poster Session 5, 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM: Campus Center Auditorium [A80]

A problem that has persisted both in and around the University of Massachusetts Amherst for some time now is housing. This problem has been talked about at length in both student newspapers and local newspapers, by students, faculty and more. Despite all this talking, many people seem to be unaware at the various aspects and restrictions that affect the situation for UMass, the Town of Amherst and even the community at large. UMass has long avoided talking about it, or even referring to it as a ‘crisis,’ despite students, faculty, residents, and parents describing it as such, and Student Government Association senators, trustees and even presidents seemingly throw around "solutions" that seem impossible to actually implement with the power they have. The focus of this research is to explore the housing situation as a whole; its causes, effects, both at the university and local levels, the university’s continued deflection and denial of its status as a crisis and the student and community attitude towards it as a whole. The lack of housing and soaring cost of rent have pushed out residents and made it nearly impossible for students to find affordable housing anywhere near the university, while the university struggles with commonwealth-wide directives that force it to work with developers. The ultimate aim of this presentation is to demonstrate the reality of the housing market and make a central document that can answer as many questions as possible and possibly even offer some solutions that are doable.
Research for Accessibility in Podcasting
Presenter: Autumn Erin Verna
Faculty Sponsor: Heesoo Jang
School: UMass Amherst
Research Area: Journalism
Location: Poster Session 5, 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM: Campus Center Auditorium [A81]

This project was a podcasting collaboration with a junior undergraduate student interested in learning journalism. Fall Semester of 2025, I interned at the University Inclusive Learning department at University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I mentored a student interested in learning about journalism, specifically podcasting. While this started as internship credit for the student, it evolved into a project grounded in individualized instruction, scaffolded mentorship, interest-driven learning. I structured our weekly meetings around accessible pedagogy by breaking down technical audio storytelling terms and structure into digestible and interactive lessons. Introducing terms like nat pops, bed music and reporter tracks while emphasizing the importance of creating scripts in a specific formula. Weekly assignments were balanced so that the student’s social and emotional disabilities were recognized and she felt supported, yet expectations for what could be accomplished were high. Because the student had an interest in ancient literature, the podcast was titled Lives, Lore and Literature, with the first episode focusing on the ancient Germanic poem Nibelungenlied. By the end of the semester we had successfully written, recorded and edited an entire episode. Most importantly, this research emphasizes how accessibility in journalism is very much achievable without changing the rigor in any courses. Adaptability and patience can make technical fields like podcasting become much more inclusive at the collegiate level.

Putting Together a Profile: Long-Form Journalism and Asking the Right Questions
Presenter: Caroline Jo Burge
Faculty Sponsor: Heesoo Jang
School: UMass Amherst
Research Area: Journalism
Location: Poster Session 5, 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM: Campus Center Auditorium [A83]

In the field of journalism, conducting an interview is a fundamental process that contributes meaningfully to articles. Interviews can be unpredictable interactions, as there is no way to accurately predict how an interviewee may respond to different topics, and access and availability, especially for a longer period of time, are never guaranteed. Additionally, following up on interviews is never a given. For these reasons, making inquiries and interacting with interviewees in a personable, inquisitive, and thoughtful manner is incredibly necessary. This past fall, I had the opportunity to write a long-form profile on a UMass athlete. Beginning this project was a daunting task, as it is a big responsibility to tell someone's story, and that's only possible if you ask the right questions. The act and art of interviewing leaves little room for extemporaneous or misguided questions. Formulating queries with intention can directly affect the thoroughness of an answer. Beginning with essentially a blank slate, conducting background research and formulating well-rounded interview questions gave me the best insight into their life. From there, speaking to a range of people close to them was extremely enlightening and crucial to finding threads to follow. Beyond this, piecing together research, quotes, and commentary to produce a reflective piece is a subtly complex creative process. The experience taught me the invaluable lessons of big-picture thinking and attention to detail in all steps of the interviewing and writing process. Through these principles, journalists can create well-developed articles that accurately articulate information and include personal anecdotal attributions.