WKU Events

When Disaster Strikes
Reporting community stories during the December tornadoes

Thursday March 31, 2022

• 5:30 p.m. Photo Exhibit, Jody Richards Hall Gallery, WKU
• 6:30 p.m. Panel Discussion, Jody Richards Hall Auditorium, WKU

Everybody has a story to tell from the December tornadoes that struck western Kentucky. Area journalists began telling those stories before the tornadoes even touched down, and continue to bring to light the struggles people face while rebuilding from the storms.

Western Kentucky University’s School of Media, as part of The John B. Gaines Family Lecture Series, offers an evening looking back at the stories surrounding the December tornadoes and what was involved in sharing those stories with the journalists' communities.

The series includes a 5:30 p.m. opening for an exhibit of 59 photographs documenting the impact of the tornadoes, taken by photographers throughout the region.

At 6:30 p.m. our panel of four journalists will discuss their experiences telling their communities' stories as the events unfolded. The panelists include meteorologist Trent Okerson of Paducah’s WPSD, photojournalist Grace Ramey at the Bowling Green Daily News, and Rick Rojas, a national correspondent for The New York Times. WKU Public Radio host Alana Watson will moderate the discussion.

The photo exhibit will be on display March 28 to April 22, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

More information: https://www.wku.edu/schoolofmedia/gaines_lecture/gaineslecturearchive.php