WEKU #EKUENGAGES IN STUDENT MEDIA
Ronnie Ellis (left), Frankfort reporter for Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. News Service, and Ryland Barton (right), Kentucky Public Radio, discuss the political climate with host John Hingsbergen.
STUDENTS LEAD THE WAY ON WEKU’S EASTERN STANDARD PROGRAM Nearly every Friday, student producers toss out programming ideas to John Hingsbergen, WEKU content manager. He quickly provides feedback designed to help them explore the value of their suggestions to Eastern Standard’s growing community of listeners. A program on hops and craft beer? The answer, “Not so much.” A show on a community program working to provide education about increasing racial tensions? The answer, “Sure.” Within the hour, the small, mint-green newsroom in the basement of the Carl D. Perkins Building is filled with chatter as students begin researching and making connections with potential guests. Students are integral to the weekly public affairs program focused on Central and Southeastern Kentucky. Besides pitching program topics, they also contact and book guests, and help with the technicalities of getting the show live on the air. (Students even picked the mint-green paint in the newsroom.) The students also interact with a wide range of community leaders, activists and scholars inperson as the guests come to the studio. It’s all part of a rich experience that prepares them to
32
BIENNIAL REPORT
enter the workforce, allows them to see up-close the importance of public service and extends the stewardship of the University’s values. The hard work of students has paid off. Eastern Standard recently won a first-place award from the national Public Radio News Directors Incorporated. Students proposed the topic of the winning show, “Diversity in the Media.” Noah Day graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2015. Within two months, he was working part time in the news department of a local TV station, WLEX-18. Within a year, he was co-producing the talk show Hey Kentucky. Noah says his experience with Eastern Standard prepared him to immediately start his career, a rare opportunity that helped put his college course work to practical use. “I learned from organizing the show and writing how to take control and be the boss,” he said. “The great thing about my experience at Eastern Standard is that the more I put into it, the more I got out of it.” Find out the latest news at weku.fm/programs/eastern-standard.