The future of our business

WKU PJ students listen in on the Career Day roundtable discussion during the 16th annual event sponsored by the WKU Photojournalism program in the School of Media at WKU.

On Friday, February 21, 2020 we hosted our 16th annual WKU PJ Career Day. Thirteen professionals from the region come in for the day to interview our Photojournalism program students for potential jobs and internships, but mostly to give many of the students an opportunity for “first contact” with the photojournalism profession and an opportunity to allow the students to exercise their interview skills.

As evident from this list, our alumni support is strong:

Albert Cesare – Cincinnati Enquirer (WKUPJ graduate)
Gary Hairlson  – St. Louis Post-Dispatch (WKUPJ graduate)
Joe Howell – Vanderbilt University (WKUPJ graduate)
Mark Humphrey – Associated Press, Tennessee
Brett Marshall – Kertis Creative, Louisville (WKUPJ graduate)
Patrick Murphy-Racey – Freelance, Knoxville
Marcia Prouse – The Tennessean, Nashville
Sawyer Roque – Kertis Creative, Louisville (WKUPJ graduate)
Steven Rosenberg – Chicago Tribune
John Russell – Vanderbilt University (WKUPJ graduate)
Sam Upshaw – The Courier-Journal, Louisville (WKUPJ graduate)
Mark Weber – Daily Memphian, Memphis (WKUPJ graduate)
Bryan Woolston – Freelance for AP, Reuters, and Getty, based in Louisville

Marcia Prouse, Director of Photography at The Tennessean in Nashville, listens as Lily Thompson, a WKUPJ junior, talks about her portfolio work.

Emily Moses, a WKUPJ senior, has her portfolio reviewed by Associated Press photographer Mark Humphrey.

WKU graduates Albert Cesare from the Cincinnati Enquirer (L), Sam Upshaw, Jr. from the Courier-Journal and freelance photographer and SONY camera ambassador Patrick Murphy-Racey talk with WKUPJ students during the roundtable discussion.

After a morning of interviews, we broke for lunch, then we conducted a roundtable discussion, where the professionals gave the students advice about how to prepare for a career in photojournalism while still in school, how to obtain employment, and tips on how to succeed in the profession once they enter it. We then resumed with interviews throughout the afternoon.

James Kenney started organizing this event 16 years ago because he said he heard too many  students say they were hesitant about reaching out to the profession because they didn’t feel like they were ready to do so. As a faculty and staff in the photojournalism program we feel the the sooner they make contact the better, and therefore the more directed (and committed) they will be toward their goals while navigating their way through the photojournalism program. The added bonus is that many of our students have directly benefited from Career Day, with many of them obtaining internships as a direct result of meeting with the professionals during this event. One professional who has attended the past two years, Sawyer Roque, was hired as an intern at Kertis Creative (a multimedia firm based in Louisville, Kentucky) as a result of an interview with the company during Career Day. After her internship was over, they hired her on full time, and now she is attending as a professional to mentor a new generation of future visual storytellers – full circle! Kertis currently has six of our Photojournalism program graduates working for the company, and many others from our program have interned and worked there over the years.

Sawyer Roque, a WKUPJ graduate, came to Career Day representing Kertis Creative to complete the full circle of student, intern, professional and now mentoring current students, like Grace Pritchett, a WKUPJ senior.

WKU Alum J. Scott Applewhite Inducted into Hall of Distinguished Alumni

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning Photojournalist J. Scott Applewhite has lived a life being in the middle of the major news stories around the world. He was recently honored as the newest inductee in the Western Kentucky University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

WKU Photojournalism is honored to call him our own, and Photojournalism is lucky to have such a kind person as an ambassador for our industry.

If you want to see more about J. Scott Applewhite you can follow a  mysterious instagram accounts that shows him behind the scenes. @scottyshots1

Video by: WKYU-PBS

Ali Exhibition starts it’s nine-week run

The Muhammad Ali photo exhibition at the School of Journalism & Broadcasting had its opening reception on Monday, March 11. The publisher of Picture: Muhammad Ali photo book Warren Winter gave opening reception remarks thanking Courier Journal photographer Pat McDonogh, the books editor, for realizing the importance of the collection they uncovered in their archives. Courier Journal photojournalists C. Thomas Hardin, Keith Williams, Bill Luster and Sam Upshaw Jr. joined McDonogh for a roundtable to discuss the experiences around covering Ali during his 4-decade career as a boxer and humanitarian.

The exhibition is open Sunday, 1:00 – 9:00, Monday – Wednesday 9:00 – 9:00 and Thursday – Friday 9:00 – 5:00 thru May 3. The book can be purchased by visiting here.

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From left, Courier Journal photojournalists Pat McDonogh, Bill Luster, C. Thomas Hardin, Sam Upshaw Jr. and Keith Williams talk about their experiences photographing The Champ during his 40-year career.  | Photos by Jonathan Adams

More than 60 prints make-up the exhibition of rare, never before published images.

Photojournalist Keith Williams, left, talks with colleague C. Thomas Hardin about images in the exhibition they took more than 40 years ago.

Students and members of the community study images in the exhibition.

Students explore a near life-size reproduction of what is believed to be the first photograph of a 12-year-old Cassius Clay as a boxer.

From left, Courier Journal photojournalists Pat McDonogh, Bill Luster, C. Thomas Hardin, Sam Upshaw Jr. and Keith Williams talk about their experiences photographing The Champ during his 40-year career.

Photojournalist Keith Williams, lower left, and C. Thomas Hardin sign copies of Picture: Muhammad Ali after the roundtable lecture while photojournalist Sam Upshaw Jr., right, talks with a WKU student.

 

WKUPJ wins Hearst Intercollegiate Championships in photojournalism and multimedia

We are a proud group of WKUPJ faculty, staff and alumni and are always amazed by the dedication and talent of our students. Once again, WKUPJ has won the Hearst Intercollegiate Championship in Photojournalism and Multimedia. This is the 24th time WKUPJ has won in Photojournalism and this is our 7th year in a row that we have won Multimedia.  So many people to thank… and since we are visual people, it might be easier to show than tell.  Congratulations to all, and for a full rundown with links to their work, please visit http://www.hearstawards.org/competitions/2017-18/

WKUPJ Wins 23rd Overall Photojournalism in the Hearst Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition

WKUPJ Wins Overall in Hearst Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition.

Hearst Journalism Awards program recognized Western Kentucky University as the overall winner in their Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition.  This marks the 23rd year that Western as won First Place overall in the prestigious competition.
To win overall in Photojournalism students competed in two competitions, News and Features, and in Picture Story/Series.

In the first competition two students from WKUPJ could enter up to 8 images each. Senior Harrison Hill won 1st place and Sophomore Gabriel Scarlett took 2nd place with their collection of images.

The second competition was Picture Story/Series with Junior Srijita Chattopadhyay taking first place for her story about a mother’s struggle with the loss of her 12-year-old daughter who died from an overdose brought on by bullying at school.  Freshman Lydia Schweickart placed 10th in the competition with her story about a mom starting her career as an exotic dancer to support her family after her fiancee lost his job.

Congratulations to our students who competed, along with the rest of our students who push to make our program a success every year. As the WKUPJ family we inspire and challenge each other to do better and in turn we all are a part of our fellow student’s success.

Journalism or Rubbernecking?

Yesterday in New York, a man was pushed off a train platform in line of an oncoming train. A freelance photographer for The New York Post was there to witness it. This is the result.

 

Now, the question of ethics and humanity come into play. Should the photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, have done exactly as he did – photograph a news worthy situation? Or should he have put down his camera and tried to help the struggling man?

What would you have done?

We shouldn’t only be questioning the photographer, however. Was is right for The Post to run this photo? Should it have been published but not on the front page?

To read more about the incident, click here.

To read about the journalism world’s backlash against the publication and photographer, click here.

 

With respect to a legend.

Our goal here is to publish work from WKU photojournalism students and faculty, however, this week’s news out of Denver is a special situation. We here at WKU would like to express our sympathy for the death of a truly amazing news organization. Many of our graduates have passed through the doors at the Rocky – both on internships and as staff members. The Rocky Mountain News will be missed and our students will have one less place to admire and use as an example of truly great visual journalism. Click here to read more about the making of this historic video and what it meant to the editors of this production.