CBS anchor, alum, to speak at Dean Stone

By Danny Bobbe
J-School Web Reporter

Photo courtesy of CBS

Click here to watch J-School alum Meg Oliver report on the Scooter Libby verdict.

Before dawn on the morning on April 26, University of Montana School of Journalism alum Meg Oliver will finish her shift as anchor for CBS News’ “Up To the Minute” and start her trip from New York to Missoula. Upon arrival she begins what will surely be a busy schedule of visiting mentors, passing on advice to students preparing to enter her field and then giving the speech at the 50th Annual Dean Stone Lecture that evening.

Oliver hopes to sleep on the plane.

A graduate of the broadcast class of 1993, Oliver has risen to one of the highest levels of television journalism, something that does not surprise her former professor Bill Knowles.

“There are people who just get it. It’s a tough business and I just knew she’d be successful,” said Knowles, who retired last year.

Fresh out of school, Oliver got a job as a reporter and anchor in Kalispell. During this time Oliver worked as a “one-man band” and was in charge of capturing video and audio as well as reporting the news. All of these were skills she acquired at J-school, she said.

“It’s fun starting off because so many things can go wrong,” Oliver said after recalling a time she entirely re-shot one of her earliest reports after realizing she had no audio recorded. “It’s quite the juggling act.”

As Oliver’s career took off she made the difficult decision to leave Montana. Over the next decade, Oliver took jobs across the country from Seattle to Detroit to Hartford, Conn.

“Each job she had, she did as well as it could be done,” said Knowles, who had the opportunity to watch Oliver grow at several different news stations. 

One of the secrets to her success, which she hopes to share with students when she arrives, is how to make and maintain connections.

“You have to learn how to network,” Oliver said, adding that it was Knowles who emphasized this point to her as a student.

But there could be additional reasons for Oliver’s success that might be more difficult to teach.

“She had the look like she was going to be on television,” said Ray Ekness, chair of the Radio-TV Department. “She had the spark, the total package.”

Oliver hopes to address fears that students might have as they prepare to leave college for jobs in the real world. She also plans to listen to career plans and offer guidance.

For Oliver, coming back to Missoula is wonderful on many levels. She is excited about being in Missoula during the spring, seeing former mentors like Knowles and broadcast professor Denise Dowling, and touring Anderson Hall, the new journalism building.

Additionally, she looks forward to being the returning professional from the field with knowledge to share. As a student Oliver loved it when professors brought big leaguers into class to lecture.

“I’m completely flattered; it’s a huge honor,” she said of the invitation to return.

“I think my heart will always be in Montana,” Oliver wrote in an e-mail.

Dean Stone Night, the School of Journalism’s annual awards banquet, is scheduled for Friday, April 27. In addition to the traditional Thursday night Dean Stone lecture, Oliver will also attend the banquet. Last year’s speaker was cartoonist Mark Fiore, who talked about the many different levels of importance of political cartoons.

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