Recently, a story detailing a casualty of the Confidential Informant program at UMass and the heroin epidemic sweeping New England that was published in the Boston Globe and written by UMass senior Eric Bosco made waves in the UMass Justice System, news outlets around New England, and within the journalism department. Bosco has also appeared on Fox 25 news to tell how he reported the story, and has been helping the SGA to craft a statement on how they should proceed with the CI program.
So, have you noticed any newfound attention for your story?
The story’s been going pretty far. It’s gotten picked up by the UK’s Daily Mail, among other publications, and I’ve gotten on television and on the River 93.9 for it.
Can you tell us about your television experience?
My interview on Fox 25 was the first time I’ve ever been on television, and I really liked it. Before I went on the air with Maria Stephanos, who is also a UMass alum, we ended up talking about the school until we went on air. I talked about the story for a bit, and after we got off the air Maria met my parents, which was awesome because they watch her on the news every night, so it was nice to do that. I would like to do more of it. But in truth, the fame comes with the story. It doesn’t feel all that good, but any changes that can be made are good to see. We just need to get the ball rolling.
What changes are being made?
The SGA looked into the CI program on October 6 to make a statement on it, which will then be presented to Chancellor Subbaswamy. Unfortunately, the SGA members were never really educated on the CI program, so they’re going to reconvene on the 14th to craft a more thoroughly-researched statement.
What changes would you like to see made?
Personally, I’m not going to be satisfied until 1) the CI program is gone, and 2) Police and students can get along. There doesn’t have to be this culture of animosity towards them, but the police have some stuff to figure out amongst themselves so this can actually happen. Also, how we can stem the tide of heroin effectively on the UMass campus. I want to see these changes being made for “Logan’s” parents, I know this story brought back a lot of painful memories for them, but it didn’t have to go like that for his son and I hope that the administration can learn from this. I as a journalist and we as students have the power to make this happen. Logan’s mother wants his story to make a difference, and I’m still dedicated to the cause of making sure it does.
Now that you’ve gotten to the front page of the Globe and other media outlets, what’s the next step for you?
Chiefly, I want to get people engaged in the news, and I want to start doing it on this campus. I want to branch out from print. I’ve had an idea to start a site that mixes elements of VICE and Barstool Sports’ business models together, and incorporates voting and polling from students on issues. At the very least, though, I would like to start a YouTube channel and do more multimedia. Podcasts, videos, radio, I’d like to do it all, so stay tuned.
Anything else that you would like the readers to know?
Well, I’m newly single, so there’s that.
And finally, if you were an animal, what animal would you be?
I’d be a giraffe. They just seem like the chillest animals ever. Also because I’m tall and thin people have thought I sort of looked like a giraffe.
Keep on the lookout for more news from Eric Bosco, who can also be found at the Twitter handle @Eric_Bosco