J-School students join legislative press corps

photo by Denise Dowling

Print reporter Kristen Inbody (left) joins broadcast students Christine Tutty, Beth Saboe and Tim Reilly in the tiny basement press room of the Capitol on Jan. 3, the first day of the 2005 Montana State Legislature.

The new year started quickly for four UM journalism students covering the 2005 Montana Legislature for radio stations and weekly newspapers around the state.

"It's been stressful and exciting and boring and intense all at the same time. It's been all over the place the last few days," said Beth Saboe, a senior in broadcast news.

Saboe and fellow broadcast seniors Tim Reilly and Christine Tutty file daily reports for more than 50 radio stations in Montana through the J-School’s Legislative News Service. The reports include a one-minute headline segment and a longer, three-minute report. Professor Denise Dowling is overseeing the crew.

Meanwhile, graduate student Kristen Inbody is covering the high points of the legislative session for about 30 weekly papers in the state through the Community News Service. Professor Dennis Swibold, who teaches the news service class, said the service filed 23 stories during the fall semester for 28 papers in the state.

On Jan. 3, the first day of the session, the students covered the inauguration of Gov. Brian Schweitzer as well as the leadership coup in the House of Representatives when Rep. Gary Matthews, D-Miles City, was elected house speaker over the Democrats’ choice, Rep. Dave Wanzenreid of Missoula.

Inbody said her only scoop so far was being the first person to whom Senate Minority Leader Bob Keenan showed his special binder on Schweitzer.

"It's to track the governor's campaign promises and compare it with his actions,” Inbody said. “The binder's got about two inches worth of newspaper clippings, and Keenan is looking forward to showing it to Schweitzer. That's it for scoops, but it's only been three days.”

The J-School started the news service in 1992 and has covered biennial legislative sessions in Helena since then. But this is the first year that broadcast students have been added. On opening day, broadcast students interviewed both House leaders, the new House speaker and Senate Education Committee Chairman Don Ryan, D-Great Falls. They sent their first package out on on opening day in a tense atmosphere of deadline pressure combined with many layers of technological failure. But they were only half an hour late.

"I thought that we were pretty under the gun coming in with little to no experience, and we've done a good job of stepping up and doing a decent job,” said Saboe.

The low point of the first day was technology glitches, and, for Inbody, “my complete inability to find my office the first day. The AP let me hang my coat up with them until I could find it, which was a good three hours after I arrived at the statehouse.”

But there were many high points, as well.

"It was cool to see the inauguration,” Reilly said. “Bagpipes!"

Tutty, who will work only the first three weeks of the session before going off to an internship at Fox Sports Net in Los Angeles, agreed: "It's interesting to be part of something broadcast all over the state."

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