Senate Fellowship

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These were the moments when I resisted saying, “Don’t you people know I’m a reporter?” But this could also be where their East Coast bias crept in. What did it matter if a reporter from Arkansas was sitting in the back of the room? (Where is Arkansas, anyway?)

If there’s one thing I learned from those meetings on the Hill, it’s that staff members run the country. Indeed, they’re working so hard for such long hours that it was almost surprising what precious little was actually accomplished. In that way, Congress lived up to its reputation.

The real value of the fellowship, for me, was not so much in learning how an appropriations bill is passed or how tax policy is massaged behind closed doors, though I’m glad for the knowledge because it makes me a better reporter. Instead, the value was my renewed faith in the power of journalism.

Investigations would begin in response to clipped-out newspaper articles or on the basis of last night’s 60 Minutes interview. Conversely, weeks of work seemed to evaporate if reporters ignored the product. Issues that seemed inconsequential became top priorities when reporters called, and not just those from the national media but also those from small towns in Montana. As someone who’s been making those calls for years, it was fascinating and even gratifying to see the reaction at the other end of the line.  Vogel, too, said he was reminded of the extent to which the actions and policies of government seemed driven by the media.

“I always suspected as much, but it was enlightening to watch it happen up close – how strategic, blatant, and occasionally shameless it was,” he said.

For me, it was a sobering reminder of the importance of what we do, how we select stories, and how we decide which issues are worth pursuing.

It’s enough to make me wish for a fellows’ exchange program to bring our sources into our own newsroom world on occasion. If nothing else, we could use the sympathy.