When I moved to West Virginia to teach journalism in 2012, I ran head-on into stereotypes about Appalachia, mostly from acquaintances who had never been to the region. Misconceptions about ignorant white hillbillies abounded. When I told one of my Mom’s doctors that I lived in West Virginia (where we were planning to move my aging parents), he responded, “My condolences.” So you can imagine my delight when I recently discovered a little-known nonprofit that has been trying to counter those stereotypes for the last 50 years. It’s known as Appalshop, and good part of its mission is to train young people (high school and college students) in television, radio and film-making so they can learn to produce content that explodes media stereotypes about the region. Its trainees have produced some well-known documentaries (one of the most famous being Stranger with a Camera about film-makers from outside the region visiting Appalachia and being greeted with less than open arms). They also run a radio station (WMMT), which partners with NPR affiliates around the region to produce news about Appalachia, and sponsor local DJs to spin music the region is famous for, such as bluegrass and country.
“Appalshop’s model has been based on giving people the chance to speak about their own personal experiences,” says Benny Becker, a story trainer and co-producer for Appalshop’s WMMT. “We are trying to provide quality local media in a place that is both underserved and misrepresented.”
Becker has been working at Appalshop since 2016, and in 2019, he won a prestigious Nieman journalism fellowship for his work. Before the Nieman, he toiled as a reporter for WMMT and produced many groundbreaking stories about problems in the Appalachian coal fields, including efforts by Kentucky state lawmakers to limit black lung claims from coal miners. Since Becker returned to Appalachia (he works remotely from Beckley, West Virginia), he has been training young people in how to produce stories for radio, television and film. His protegees, most of whom never even considered college as a possibility, have gone onto to become photographers, film-makers and media college graduates. One of Appalshop’s trainees was featured in a Washington Post article about the struggle by African-Americans to be included in Appalachia’s heritage.
The former trainee, Shaylan Clark, now a college student, says her family was one of hundreds of African-American families who used to mine coal in Appalachia but whose contributions have been largely ignored by national media who persist in thinking of laid-off coal miners as white.
“When someone hears ‘Appalachia,’ the first thing that pops into their head isn’t an African American face, ever,” said Clark, 20, a student who is studying history at the nearby Southeast Community Technical College. “It’s kind of irritating.”
Clark is just one of the many beneficiaries of Appalshop’s unique approach to erasing misconceptions and creating new possibilities. As Becker says, “The power of Appalshop is structuring things in a way that makes them accessible to people who couldn’t otherwise afford to learn these skills.”
When you think about who is increasingly dominating the media these days (big corporations that have a vested interest in the status quo), Appalshop represents a refreshingly different grassroots approach to change. I only hope it enjoys another 50 years of existence!
This blog is also posted on medium.com.
