In the Czech Republic, as in Montana, news reports about ethnic minorities too often fit the stereotype.And in the Czech Republic, just like in Montana, news reporters have the ability to transcend those stereotypes and report the news.That juxtaposition was never clearer than a recent Friday morning at the Montana State Prison, where five University of Montana journalism students and five student journalists from the Czech Republic's Charles University in Prague worked to overcome the challenges of reporting minority issues.The alliance is part of an international exchange project called "Cross-Cultural Communications: Covering Minorities." It's been under way since May 25, when five UM students - two photographers and three writers - traveled from Missoula to Prague to meet their Czech counterparts, who have since paid a visit to Montana.Charles Hood, a former dean of the UM School of Journalism and the professor leading the project, designed the six-week exchange program as a means for students to explore key issues facing minority groups in both cultures.While UM students focused on the public perceptions and news coverage surrounding the Romany people, the Czech students are exploring similar perceptions about Montana's largest minority group - American Indians.

'Minds made up'

"A lot of the time, reporters covering minority issues already have their minds made up," Hood said. "But these students approach the situation with innocence, learn as much as they can, and make up their minds based on their own experience."So far, that experience is based on three weeks of reporting on the Romany people in Europe (commonly referred to as "gypsies," the term is considered derogatory). In turn, the Czech contingent has been criss-crossing Montana, reporting on how education, economics, social issues, culture and justice affect the Indian population.The students have embarked on all manner of fieldwork, and by August will have created an Internet publication of stories, photos and audio slideshows."The overall idea is to compare similar issues that two very different minority groups in two very different countries are facing," blogged UM student Sean Breslin before leaving on the trip. "What sort of social problems do they face? What sort of benefits do they have access to, and are those benefits being taken advantage of? Issues like education, health care and criminal justice loom large, and I'm looking forward to meeting our Czech counterparts and getting to work."The trip to the prison allowed the students to interact with Indian inmates and discuss significant questions of justice, such as why, of the roughly 3,500 inmates in Deer Lodge, more than 18 percent are Indian.However, Hood emphasized, it's critical for students to discern the actual reason those numbers are high, rather than the perceived reason.Later on under the beating sun, while listening to an outdoor performance by the Prayer Wars Drum Group, students were able to ask the performers questions about preserving their cultural traditions and faith in an environment like prison. One performer showed students how to "smudge" with burning sweetgrass before returning to his drum and rejoining the group.Additionally, the students have visited the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, the Flathead Reservation and the state capital to meet with a tribal liaison officer.They've also gone tubing down the Blackfoot River, driven to Glacier National Park and discovered that, unlike Prague, the dormitory vending machines at UM don't carry beer.

And while students have noticed that the distinctive cultures in Montana sometimes clash, the Czech Republic is even more divided, according to Hood, who points out that Czechoslovakia was a Communist state from 1948 until 1989."Racism is alive here, no question about it," he said. "But the two sides are much more at odds in the Czech Republic than in Montana."Hood also pointed out that in some instances the Romany people prefer Communism because it at least provided them with housing, education and health care, even though it was inadequate by many standards.The impetus for the exchange project came from Hood, who worked as an editor for the Prague Post and International Herald Tribune in Paris.Eventually, he moved back to Prague and opened an English language journalism program in the post-communist Czech Republic, calling it Anglo-American College. He also spent time as a journalism professor at Charles University, where he met Jan Jirak, the dean of social sciences there. Together, the men are responsible for introducing Prague to the University of Montana.Jan Krecek, a professor of journalism at Charles University, also helped organize the curriculum from Prague and was a critical component in shaping the project.By assigning the students to work in pairs, Krecek said, they are learning the similarities and differences in how other cultures practice journalism.Alice Tejkalova is working toward her doctorate in media studies, and is employed as a television journalist and documentary filmmaker.Vendula Krizova has a bachelor's degree in journalism, but is seeking her master's in media studies. She currently works at an online newspaper.Marie Novakova is pursuing a bachelor's degree in journalism, while Breslin is about to become editor of UM's student newspaper, the Montana Kaimin.But the students all share an interest in minorities and media stereotypes, which ultimately drew them to the exchange project."This project has allowed us to parachute these students into a culture they do not know, pair them with Czech students they do not know and send them into situations that have been difficult and impossible for even the top professionals to handle," Hood said.