Team of 50 students, faculty, staff
return to music fest for fourth year
MANCHESTER, Tenn. — It’s the fourth year that Middle Tennessee State University has deployed
a team of multimedia students to cover the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival,
but the experience never gets old.
That’s because each year of the unique partnership between Bonnaroo and
MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment is a fresh experience to the
students who gain valuable on-the-job experience in one of the world’s top
live-music venues.
“Each year, we bring a broader range of study to our ‘Bonnaroo campus,’”
said Media and Entertainment Dean Ken Paulson. “This year, students
majoring in photography, journalism, audio engineering and video production
will pursue their academic interests in the fields of Manchester.”
A contingent of about 50 students, faculty and staff arrived Thursday at
the 700-acre farm that serves as grounds for the four-day festival. It has been
described by Rolling Stone magazine in 2003, a year after its debut, as one of
the 50 moments that changed rock ‘n’ roll.
MTSU journalism students will be covering major music acts, including U2,
Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Weeknd, Chance The Rapper and Major Lazer, as well
as a wide range of other artists and events on Bonnaroo’s several stages.
A broadcast-style student production team will capture audio and video of
performances on the Who stage, using MTSU’s state-of-the-art, $1.7 million Mobile
Production Lab already set up on the grounds.
“Most universities do not have the facilities or faculty experience that
we have at MTSU,” said Robert Gordon, a media arts assistant professor
who oversees the mobile lab. “We teach students the skills to produce the kind
of entertainment that Bonnaroo produces.”
“We've learned to always be flexible and adapt to changing operational
and artistic conditions on the ground,” said Michael Fleming, a
Department of Recording Industry professor who teaches audio production.
Also, a student multimedia reporting team will be generating story,
photographic and video coverage of Bonnaroo for area media outlets, including
The Tennessean and USA TODAY NETWORK sites throughout Tennessee, including The
Daily News Journal.
And, for the first time in the partnership, MTSU’s public radio station, WMOT
Roots Radio, will be on the grounds to highlight some of the Americana acts
playing at Bonnaroo. The station at 89.5 FM will broadcast live reports
Saturday and Sunday, as well as the Bluegrass Situation’s Superjam on Sunday
night.
Most of these students are enrolled in credit-bearing courses based upon
their Bonnaroo experiences.
MTSU students last year filed 45 bylined reports at Bonnaroo, along with
12 sets of photos and a myriad of social media posts, for The Tennessean, its
network affiliates and Sidelines, the student-run campus news platform.
“This is an excellent opportunity to receive up to a half-dozen
publishing credits,” said Leon Alligood, an associate professor in the
School of Journalism who serves as faculty adviser to MTSU’s student media
platform, Sidelines. “I don’t know of another opportunity like this.”
This year, students will also contribute content to
NowPlayingNashville.com, an arts and entertainment site administered by The
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
“One of the most exciting and challenging teaching aspects about the
weekend is being mindful of the audience metrics that help guide The Tennessean
and other media outlets these days,” said Pat Embry, an adjunct
professor and former journalist who returned to again help MTSU coordinate its
Bonnaroo operations.
“The students and editors must ask themselves: Is this story relevant to
readers and fans and followers of these bands? How can we create more digital
traffic for our work?”
That, Paulson said, makes Bonnaroo both fun and valuable.
“When our students get their first jobs, an assignment to work a major
media or music event won’t be their first,” he said.
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