Sacred Heart Journalism Earns Global Attention

At international media literacy symposium, SHU delegation highlights how nonprofit journalism is preparing students and helping strengthen local news

Key Highlights

• Sacred Heart University’s School of Communication, Media & the Arts presented its Community Journalism for Social Change model at the 6th International Media Literacy Research Symposium in Rome, including sessions held at the Vatican
• The University’s nonprofit journalism initiative includes the Easton Courier and Fairfield County News, giving students hands-on newsroom experience while strengthening local journalism
• Sacred Heart’s community journalism initiative has earned more than 60 Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism Awards, a $100,000 Press Forward grant, a First Place Connecticut Press Club Award, and national recognition for Assistant Teaching Professor Taciane Batista as a 2026 Faculty Champion by the University of Vermont’s Center for Community News
• Award-winning recent graduate Danielle Grillo documented the conference as a multimedia journalist and interviewed international participants, including a senior Vatican education official, demonstrating the real-world impact of the SCMA’s experiential learning model
• As commercial local news organizations continue to contract, Sacred Heart faculty members shared how nonprofit, university-supported journalism is emerging as a sustainable model for serving communities and preparing the next generation of journalists

When educators, journalists, and researchers from more than 30 countries gathered in Rome to discuss the future of media literacy, artificial intelligence, and journalism, Sacred Heart University’s School of Communication, Media & the Arts (SCMA) arrived with a nationally recognized model for rebuilding local news.

James Castonguay, associate dean of the SCMA, along with Taciane Batista, assistant teaching professor; Ann Marie Somma, veteran journalist and managing editor; Joe Alicastro, senior news producer-in-residence, and recent graduate Danielle Grillo ’25, represented Sacred Heart at the 6th International Media Literacy Research Symposium, where they presented “Community Journalism for Social Change.” Hosted by John Cabot University, the symposium included opening events and keynote sessions at the Vatican, bringing together international leaders in journalism, education, and media literacy.

The invitation to present reflected the rapid growth of Sacred Heart’s nonprofit community journalism initiative. Since reviving the Easton Courier in 2020 and launching Fairfield County News in 2025, the University’s student-powered newsrooms have earned more than 60 Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism Awards, secured a $100,000 Press Forward grant to expand local reporting, and recently captured a First Place Connecticut Press Club Award for reporting by Batista, Alicastro, and Grillo on artificial intelligence and election misinformation. Batista also was recognized nationally as a 2026 Faculty Champion by the University of Vermont’s Center for Community News for her leadership in building university-community journalism partnerships.

“For us, the conference was an opportunity to establish our brand internationally,” Castonguay said. “We wanted to show that if you have an undergraduate journalism or media program with motivated faculty, you can integrate journalism into the curriculum and make a real difference in your local news ecosystem.”

^{Front row, from left: Ann Marie Somma, Belinha De Abreu, Taciane Batista, James Castonguay, Danielle Grillo. Back, James Castonguay and alum Alejandro Ramos (who presented at the conference)}

A model with global relevance

The challenges facing local journalism are not unique to the United States.

Communities around the world are grappling with shrinking newsrooms, declining trust in media, and the loss of local reporting. Sacred Heart’s community journalism model offers an alternative by pairing faculty members, professional journalists, and students in nonprofit newsrooms that produce meaningful reporting while preparing students for careers in an evolving media industry.

The presentation highlighted how experiential learning, media literacy, and nonprofit journalism work together to strengthen communities while giving students professional newsroom experience before graduation.

For Batista, one of the greatest strengths of the conference was the opportunity to connect with educators and journalists working to solve many of the same challenges.

“The most exciting part was really the networking,” said Batista, who is director of SHU’s journalism & media production graduate program. “People got to see the work we’re doing and were excited about the model and how they could apply it. We connected not only with universities, but with journalism organizations across Europe, sharing ideas and learning from one another.”

Those conversations reinforced the fact that concerns about local journalism extend well beyond the United States.

“Everybody’s going through some kind of media crisis—declining trust, local news deserts,” Batista said. “Going to this conference confirmed that it’s more important than ever to address these issues.”

Castonguay said the discussions demonstrated that Sacred Heart’s approach has international relevance.

“What was really exciting was the opportunity to network with countries that all see a crisis in local news in their own way,” he said. “This university model is something they’re really excited about.”

Experiential learning on an international stage

For Grillo, an award-winning recent graduate who reported for both Fairfield County News and the Easton Courier, the symposium demonstrated how classroom learning can translate into extraordinary professional opportunities.

Serving as both a presenter and multimedia journalist, Grillo documented the conference through video and photography, interviewed participants from multiple countries, and covered sessions held at the Vatican. She also interviewed Bishop Paul Desmond Tighe, secretary of the culture section of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, whose work focuses on the intersection of culture, education, technology, and artificial intelligence—an opportunity she said she never imagined having so early in her career.

“It was an incredible experience to have as an early-career journalist and also a recent graduate,” Grillo said. “It’s an opportunity I never thought I would have.”

Batista said bringing a recent graduate to the symposium offered attendees a perspective few conferences can provide.

“Most of the people there were researchers and educators,” Batista said. “Bringing Danielle was amazing because she could share what it was actually like to be a student working in this model and the impact it had on her career.”

For Castonguay, watching one of his former students work alongside internationally recognized scholars, educators, and media leaders was one of his proudest moments at the conference. “The skills that she learned allowed her to document this event,” he said. “She’s a journalist. She’s documenting this event, and it’s one of our students. I was really proud.”

The University’s impact at the symposium extended beyond the official SCMA delegation. Alejandro Ramos '23, a Sacred Heart political science graduate also presented multiple sessions on civic engagement, youth participation, and media literacy. His participation alongside Sacred Heart faculty members reflected the University's broader contribution to international conversations on democracy, journalism, and civic life.

^{SCMA crew at the Trevi Fountain}

Looking ahead

The conference also sparked new international connections. Batista said she has already begun exploring future collaborations with educators and journalism organizations she met in Rome. “It was a wonderful exchange,” Batista said. “We were able to share our framework, learn from what works in other countries, and begin building relationships that can lead to future partnerships.”

Longtime SCMA adjunct faculty member Belinha De Abreu, president of the International Council for Media Literacy, played a key role in organizing the symposium, underscoring Sacred Heart’s longstanding contributions to media literacy scholarship.

For Castonguay, the conference reinforced how dramatically the journalism profession has changed in recent years.

“Fifteen years ago, very few people would have predicted that nonprofit community journalism would become one of the most sustainable models for local news,” he said. “As traditional, for-profit news organizations continue to shrink, nonprofit and university-supported newsrooms are creating new opportunities for journalists. That’s where many of today’s graduates are going to build their careers.”

For the Sacred Heart delegation, the symposium affirmed that the University’s work is resonating far beyond Connecticut. What began as an effort to revive a single local newspaper has grown into an award-winning journalism initiative attracting national recognition, international interest, and new opportunities for students preparing to enter a rapidly changing profession.

Top Photo: From left are Joe Alicastro, Taciane Batista, James Castonguay, Danielle Grillo, and Ann Marie Somma