June 06, 2001

Journalism Workshops
Planned At WKU

Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University will host two journalism workshops for high school students this month.

A two-day Newspaper Staff Workshop, co-sponsored by WKU Student Publications and the Kentucky High School Journalism Association, begins Thursday at Garrett Conference Center. About 35 students along with advisers from seven high schools - Bowling Green, Warren East, Daviess County, Logan County, Carroll County, Grayson County and Oldham County - will attend.

The workshop includes sessions on writing, interviewing, photography, design and staff management. Thursday's keynote speaker will be Chris Poynter, a reporter for the Courier-Journal. Friday's keynote speaker will be Jackie Bretz, a former publications adviser at Bowling Green High School.

Workshop director Bob Adams said the sessions will provide high school students and their advisers with journalism expertise and experience to improve their skills and their school papers.

On Sunday, about 20 students from Kentucky and Tennessee will arrive at Western for the WKU Minority Journalism Workshop. The workshop, sponsored by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, WKU and several newspapers, concludes on June 21.

"The purpose of the workshop is to encourage young minority students to major in journalism in college and to eventually work as professionals for daily newspapers," said James Highland, WKU journalism professor and workshop director.

The workshop includes writing, editing, photography and design sessions.

Participants will produce a newspaper during the workshop and will take field trips to WBKO, Daily News and the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, the Herald-Leader in Lexington and the Tennessee Titans headquarters, Adelphia Coliseum and the Tennessean in Nashville.

Speakers at the minority workshop include Thomas George, NFL writer for the New York Times; Jerry Brewer, sports columnist for the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel; Nikita Stewart, reporter for the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger; Darla Carter, a reporter for the Courier-Journal; and Sam Upshaw, a photographer for the Courier-Journal.

For more information, contact Bob Adams at (270) 745-6278 or James Highland at (270) 745-5837. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.