Michael Venutolo-Mantovani teaches the gateway course to the Journalism minor and a “Deep Dive” on the business of freelanceing.

Earlier in the semester, he traveled to Norway to report on the northern lights for National Geographic. 

“Within minutes, thick ribbons of brilliant green and purple spread out above us, punctuating the flicker of seemingly every star in the known universe,” he wrote. “At one point, the aqua particles exploded in bloom over our heads, creating something that looked like a dome, or perhaps the falling embers of a fireworks. But when we looked up again, the dome had morphed into something else entirely. Something photos of the northern lights can’t capture is just how fast they move and reappropriate themselves into something wholly different. The lights are kinetic, almost as if they are living creatures swimming languidly through the night sky.”

The Jornalism Program asked Prof. MV, as he is known by students, to take us behind the scenes on adventure reporting. He writes:

“Late last year, I was approached by a brand called Klättermusen Experiences (which is the new experiential travel arm of the longstanding Swedish outdoor outfitter, Klättermusen). As I’ve done plenty of travel and adventure writing, the company thought I might be a good fit to write a story about their new endeavor. I approached National Geographic first, because I always pitch the biggest fish I can straight out of the gate and, much to my delight, they bought the story. Of course, as Klättermusen Experiences was sponsoring my trip, I had to disclose that in both the pitch and the final copy. What followed was… well, I’ll just let you read the story.” 

Read more about his adventures here.