After President Barack Obama announced the impending closure of the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, two UF student journalists decided to tell its story.
Telecommunications majors Miles Doran, 21, and Patrick Fleming, 25, made the three-hour journey on a twin-engine Air Sunshine plane Sept. 7 and returned Sept. 10 with hours of video, hundreds of photos and an idea of what it's like to be considered one of the world's most dangerous people.
"It was really kind of strange that you are just a few yards away from what the U.S. says is the worst of the worst," Doran said. "At the time, you don't think about it much because you're just trying to get your shots and do your job."
After returning to Gainesville, Doran and Fleming rushed to finish editing their censored video for reports that aired Friday on ABC News and WUFT-TV.
"You basically have to follow all of their rules, and they're going to show you what they want you to see," Doran said.
Getting the trip rolling was a complex process, said Doran, who pitched his idea to WUFT-TV news director Mark Leeps.
But after contacting a National Guard spokesman and filling out a stack of paperwork, his dream of reporting in Guantanamo Bay was going to be fulfilled.
"It's much more than just a detention facility," Doran said. "It's an actual naval station that has been in operation for more than 100 years."
Once their trip was approved, Doran contacted Fleming about filming the trip and started making plans with Leeps.
"We had a lot of faith in them that they would come back with good material and that it would be worth the investment and the travel," Leeps said.
"It's something that not your average college student gets to do."
While in Guatanamo, Doran and Fleming toured the three detention camps, the hospital, library and food preparation facilities.
"It was actually pretty tasty," Doran said about the food, adding a Gitmo official said the U.S. spends $37 a day on food for the detainees and only $17 for the guards.
In addition to their tours, the journalists reported on the hardships the guards face while on the job and the difficulties they face as the prisoners use any method imaginable to get into the guards' heads.
"Anything you think can come out of their bodies they will throw at them," Doran said.
"Many of the detainees who are being held there are really, really smart; guys with degrees from the London School of Economics, MIT and ASU."
Their report was aired on ABC World News Now during an early morning newscast and on WUFT-TV at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
"Don't feel that just because you're a student journalist that doesn't mean you can't report real big stories like this one," Doran said.
"Throw the fish line out there and see if you get any bites. We got a pretty good one here."
