Teens roar into reporting with UK and Lexington Public Libraries summer workshop

The University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media worked in collaboration with Lexington Public Libraries in July to host “So... You Want to be a Journalist,” a two-day summer workshop for middle and high school students.

UK Associate Professors Yung Soo Kim and David Stephenson led the workshop, teaching local preteens and teenagers essential multimedia storytelling skills. The workshop was geared toward those who had an interest in multimedia storytelling, journalism or production as a potential career. The event was part of the library’s summer programming, which aims to provide local students with safe, educational and interesting opportunities during the summer break.

On the first day, the participants learned how to use photography and videography to produce multimedia stories. Participants practiced photographing, filming, editing, on-camera reporting and interviewing. The School of Journalism and Media provided attendees with state-of-the-art equipment often used in the school’s journalism and media arts courses to practice these skills.

The second day, participants put the skills they learned into action to cover the Eastside Library’s “Life Size Dinosaur Encounter” event, which included meet and greet opportunities with life-sized animatronic dinosaurs. Workshop participants captured b-roll, or supplemental footage, and guest interviews during the event, culminating in a short recap video news story filmed, edited and reported by the aspiring journalists.

“I had a blast working with these young journalists,” Stephenson said. “They were curious and fearless, two great qualities in journalists, and I couldn’t be prouder of what they produced in such a short period of time.”

To watch the event recap video that participants produced, visit https://vimeo.com/996671978/99089aef6a.