ThreeSixty wrapped up its four-week long Virtual News Team with a visit from visual journalist Pat Nabong in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.
In 2017, Nabong earned a fellowship with the Pulitzer Center, which allowed her to return home to the Philippines and produce a variety of stories covering politics, environmental justice and human rights.
On Friday, Nabong shared powerful photos from when she covered the psychological trauma and impact of President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, and answered ThreeSixty students’ questions about life as a journalist during a global pandemic.
She also shared a personal story and photo essay she produced about life as an immigrant in sheltering in place, which was published on Medium.
“It’s important for me to share my experiences with the next generation of storytellers because I want to empower more people to tell stories,” Nabong said. “The more storytellers we have from diverse backgrounds and different experiences, the more holistic and representative our perception of the world will be.”
ThreeSixty Program Manager Theresa Malloy said, “Working with the Pulitzer Center to facilitate this visit adds another layer of learning and engagement in a virtual space. Meeting a top-notch journalist like Pat Nabong is highly impactful. She empowered students to share their own stories during a crisis because they offer unique perspectives we are not hearing enough.”
Nabong hopes to pave the path for the next generation as her mentors did for her, and encouraged the students to share their stories and ask themselves critical questions: What perspective is missing in the media narrative? What perspective do you offer? What makes it unique and necessary to share?
Over the course of Virtual News Team, ThreeSixty students were encouraged to explore creative multimedia – illustrations, photo essays, and even podcasts – to capture their new socially-distant realities. Stay tuned to see some of their work featured on ThreeSixty’s website in the coming weeks!