WKU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting hosted its annual Xposure Workshop from June 6-17.
Gary Hairlson, photo director for the Xposure Workshop, works with students during a session at the Adams-Whitaker Student Publications Center. (WKU photo by Bryan Lemon)
The two-week Xposure workshop is geared toward students who are under-represented in the field and gives them a chance to gain experience in the print and photojournalism field. The students have different coaches throughout the workshop and get to meet different people in the field of journalism in broadcasting. The workshop that has been going on for 27 years has become more diverse in the past few years.
WKU professor Neil Ralston, one of the writing coaches at the workshop, said there are not enough camps like these. “Especially today, middle and high school students don’t often seem to understand the value of good journalism,” he said.
WKU alumnus Gary Hairlson has been working at the workshop since it began. He is the photo director and is known as the “heart and soul” of the workshop. “I thought it was important to me that when I got into the journalism field, I would come back and help to let the students know that there are people that look like them in the field,” Hairlson said. “It blows my mind what these kids can do. Last year we had a student win a $1,000 scholarship for a photo and I post it everywhere like a proud photo dad.”
Xposure Workshop director and WKU professor Bob Adams said: “Along with getting experience in the field of journalism, they get to spend 12 days on a college campus, and get to experience what that’s like. We hope it’s a good one and maybe they will come back, which is certainly a plus.”
Toni Mitchell, who was a student of the workshop, has been the writing coach for about 10 years. “This camp gives students exposure to the journalism,” Mitchell said. “I hope the students take all the skills from this workshop back with them so when they go back to their school newspapers or yearbook staffs, they will make them better.”
The group had a busy schedule including trips and working on the newspaper published at the end of the workshop. On June 11, the workshop students took a trip to the Tennessee Titans training facility in Nashville. Linebacker David Thornton spoke to the students during their visit. “It wasn’t that long ago that I was in their position sitting and listening, so I hope they take some of the things I said and apply them in the future,” Thornton said.
“It’s cool to get out in the field experience more so than working at my school paper because you get out of your shell and interview people you don’t know,” said Kelsey Ranhawa, a student at Lexington’s Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
Simone Palmieri, a student at Gallatin (Tenn.) High School, said the workshop has helped her map out her college career path. “Ever since my freshman year I’ve always known that I want to help people,” she said. “They told us that to be a journalist you don’t have to major in journalism so this has helped me decide what I want to do. I want to double major in social work and psychology and then minor in journalism.”
Contact: Bob Adams, (270) 745-6278.
