WVU Journalism students travel to Italy for International Journalism Festival

Six students from the WVU Reed School of Media and Communications traveled to the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, in April, courtesy of the Gerald L. Davis, Jr. International Journalism Fund. 

Davis graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 1975 and spent that summer as an intern and “stringer” for CBS News in Rome, Italy. When he returned from Europe, he came back to Morgantown to pursue a master’s degree and worked for WVU University Relations as a radio news reporter and for the WVU Athletic Department as a sports cinematographer.

Upon Davis’ passing in 2022, his estate created the Gerald L. Davis, Jr. International Journalism Fund to support and develop international journalism experiences for students, including internships, study abroad offerings and programming that exposes students to international media professionals, outlets and practices.

“This generous estate gift is inspiring future journalists studying at WVU, just as Jerry was inspired when he spent a summer working as an intern in Rome,” said Emily Corio, director of the Reed School.  “Traveling, working and studying in another country can have a profound and positive effect on a young adult, and this gift makes it possible for more Reed School Journalism students to have such an incredible and impactful experience.” 

In 2025, Dana Coester, professor of Journalism and creative director for the Media Innovation Center, attended the International Journalism Festival (IJF) and presented it to Corio as a journalism-focused international study opportunity for Reed students. 

“The whole time I was there, I was like, ‘Why are students not coming to this festival?’” she said.

The way the festival is set up makes it ideal for students traveling abroad for the first time. Transportation is provided between Perugia and Rome, and the city is small enough to be walkable. 

“I think it's always important for young people to travel globally. When we’re trying to help students travel abroad, we want them to stretch their comfort zones, but we don’t want the experience to be so intimidating that they’re deterred from exploring. This is a great entry point for students who haven’t traveled before,” Coester said.

With the money provided by the Gerald L. Davis, Jr. International Journalism Fund, the Reed School was able to cover the flights and accommodations for six Journalism students to attend the festival in Perugia. More than a dozen students applied, and participants were chosen based on a combination of seniority and their plans to pursue journalism beyond higher education. 

“Entering into a space of global journalism and understanding where you are situated in the larger, international picture is profound, especially for students,” said Coester. “People have come from all over the world to be in that place, and it immerses you in a community that you wouldn’t otherwise experience. For the students to see themselves as part of something bigger than themselves is transformative.”

When in Perugia …

The IFJ celebrated its 20th anniversary with nearly 200 presentations and panels and more than 400 speakers from around the world, plus exclusive documentary screenings. The festival covered a range of topics including press freedom, artificial intelligence and how to cover global news topics like data centers and foreign wars. Every year, the city of Perugia, a hilltop fortified settlement dating back to 4th century B.C., becomes the venue as the festival takes over the town. 

“Every session is in a different ancient building or little cafe. There's an exploratory factor that's built into the conference itself,” said Coester. “You're getting this exquisite experience of being in Italy, but you are also experiencing global journalism with people who have come from all over the world.”

Jeffrey Boggess, a Journalism graduate student, said the ancient city—the stone streets, the bridges that connected buildings’ upper floors and the timelessness of the architecture that made it hard to distinguish residences from businesses—was as much a part of the experience as the festival itself.

“There were panels and events all over Perugia, and you could just walk to all these locations, sit down and hear people talk about X, Y, Z,” he said.

Coester joked that it sometimes looked like High Street on a Friday night, with lines for presentations in smaller venues stretching down the block. Once it was full, though, anyone left standing outside would have to find another panel to attend. Fortunately, there were plenty of options, with a half dozen or more events taking place at any given time. 

“The caliber and diversity of the programming there is stunning,” she said. 

Boggess attended several panels and presentations, including ones on artificial intelligence, a panel on how AI scraping and government restrictions pose challenges Wikipedia and one titled “How to turn journalists into rock stars,” hosted by Live Magazine, which explored journalism as more of a performance art. 

“There were three journalists who went up to the microphone. They read a piece they had written, and there was a musical accompaniment, slideshows, photos, pictures, etc. And apparently they sell out stadiums doing this, with live music and light shows and stuff. It was basically like a one-man show,” said Boggess.

“TV news is like its own genre, and it's been that way for decades, but it's not working right now. It's losing engagement to videos meant to be engaging, but also brainless,” he continued. “So I was watching this Live Magazine thing, and it feels performative, but I see the benefit of it. It's not journalism, but it is translating information, getting it across in a way meant to be entertaining, and that's what everything has to be now—entertaining, engaging, sparkly, catch-your-attention.” 

For Boggess, the most impactful experience he had at the festival was the screening of “Inside Gaza,” a documentary by Palestinian photojournalists, followed by a question-and-answer session with the creators. 

“If I didn’t do anything else at this conference, I would be happy as long as I got to see this doc,” he said. “It hasn't been put in front of a lot of people. The filmmakers themselves said it was about a 3 out of 10 in terms of the intensity of what they decided to show so they could potentially get it to Western audiences.”

Coester attended a panel about investigative reporting on data centers. None of the speakers were from the U.S., but she was struck by how the South American and Chinese journalists’ experiences so closely paralleled those in West Virginia, where the communities targeted are the ones with the least political power and a history of extractive industries. 

“I was talking to a journalist from China, and she said there’s a province in China that is Appalachia—a historical mining community with all of the complex economic and social issues that go along with that, especially when it's generational,” she said. “We were able to draw the connections between the global context and challenges of reporting on data centers to our own reporting in the U.S. and West Virginia. I remember thinking in the session, ‘This is exactly why we're here. This is what is so valuable about this experience.’”

Coester was pleased to see the students actively engage with presenters and panelists, even approaching speakers after the sessions had ended.

“They were making the most out of the experience. I know one of the students connected with the Wikipedia panelists and said she was going to be working on a Wikipedia project based just on that interaction, which I think is amazing,” said Coester. 

Most of all, Coester was pleased with how welcoming the festival and attendees were.

“You worry about U.S. reporters not always necessarily being welcomed into global communities that experience far more hardship and challenges, plus issues combating press freedoms globally,” she said. “I was really moved by how welcoming those spaces were to U.S. journalists. It was an important experience for our young people to feel like part of a global journalism community, because they are.”

Journalism students in the Reed School will have future opportunities to attend the International Journalism Festival, but Corio also hopes to add a more interactive travel opportunity.

“We are planning to repeat this trip,” said Corio. “We are also considering an alternative international trip that would involve students completing field reporting and story production abroad. We hope to offer each of these unique experiences every other year.”

Learn more about the WVU Reed School of Media and Communications at mediaandcommunications.wvu.edu and follow @wvureedschool on social media.