MTSU students cover world-celebrated Bonnaroo

MTSU students John Coulston and Kimi Thompson enjoyed the 2014 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., from a unique vantage point.

Mass Comm sophomores Kimi Thompson and John Coulston roam the grounds of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts festival in search of stories for The Tennessean. (MTSU photo)

They were among a select team from the College of Mass Communication providing multimedia coverage of the world-famous music event for The Tennessean and other media platforms, thanks to a partnership initiated by Dean Ken Paulson.

“They are having a terrific time,” Paulson said of the student team during the June 12-15 event. “It’s a great educational experience for them and they get to cover the music they love up close.”

To see a video report about MTSU’s partnership, click here.

Coulston, a journalism sophomore, made the most of the experience, roaming the festival grounds and capturing photos and videos for The Tennessean through an iPad.

“I’m covering all kinds of events going on — all the bands, interviewing some Nashville acts that are playing the festival and looking for interesting people to profile,” he said.

Ken Paulson (left), Mass Comm dean, confers with adjunct professor Pat Embry (center) and Michael Fleming, associate professor in Recording Industry, at the media tent on the grounds of Bonnaroo. (MTSU photo)

The same could be said for Thompson, a public relations sophomore, who worked to highlight interesting people she met as she traveled between music venues.

“I’m looking for great stories and situations worth reporting,” she said. “And it’s a chance to prove myself and show what I can do.”

That’s what Paulson and the other faculty mentors at Bonnaroo want to hear from all the students on the team. “Our hope is that students will get first-hand experience on what it is like to cover a music festival,” he said. “It’s about … using cutting-edge tools, multimedia and making sure you capture the story.

Paulson brokered the partnership earlier this year between the college and Bonnaroo. In April, Bonnaroo partners Ashley Capps, owner of AC Entertainment, and Rick Farman, co-founder of Superfly Presents, came to MTSU to work with students in the college. The partnership also includes a symposium that MTSU will host this fall on the “Anatomy of a Music Festival: The Bonnaroo Story and the Future of Festivals.”

Thank you to MTSU News and Media Relations and Andrew Oppmann for the story and photographs.

PR student Kimi Thompson captures video of the crowd with her iPad at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tenn. (MTSU photo)