GrizBeat

Kenney dares to cover Death Race 2010

2010-07-19T14:30:00.007-06:00

It took an eclectic mind and persistence for University of Montana School of Journalism intern Hollis Kenney just to break through and cover a sporting event like no other: Death Race 2010.

Kenney’s editor at the Rutland Herald in Vermont wasn’t sure this dramatic endurance event needed to be in the local paper. In the past, the organizer hadn’t been available to the paper’s reporters, and bigger media outlets were lined up to cover it this year.

Still, Kenney was determined to take his readers into the belly of this 10-mile race that somehow took the few contestants who didn’t drop out more than 20 hours to finish.

First, he convinced his editor to let him give it a shot. Then, he found that he had read the book that informed the organizer’s worldview. That common bond – the book, the Edison Gene, explores the advantages people with ADHD might have -- led to a more fruitful interview this year than last.

After all that, Kenney met with the race organizer at 4 a.m., climbed a mountain, and ran with the race leader in order to get an interview. It turns out that the race leader had learned a race-enhancing tidbit from Hollis’s race preview and was especially glad to talk because of that. The tip: Hollis had pointed out that pennies minted after the 1980s are significantly lighter than older coins. This mattered because each racer competed while carrying a sack filled with $50 in pennies.

“It just doesn't seem like work when you get to do stuff like that, and it makes up for all the little brief assignments and office time,” Kenney said.

The 24-hour race consists of tasks and cut-off times. Failure to complete a given task on time results in ejection from the race. Of the 100 races who registered for this year’s race, 19 finished.

Kenney said covering the race “... was pretty great, but I am very glad that I didn't have to do the whole 36 hour race.”

In addition to previewing the race and covering the competition, Kenney, whose primary focus is print journalism, shot his own photos for the story. When he's not chasing those who court death, Kenney has covered other athletes giving their all, including Special Olympians preparing for national competition and the Vermont sheep dog trials.

(Photo: John Illig crawls through mud and under barbed wire during the Death Race in Pittsfield, Vermont, on Saturday, June 26, 2010. PHOTO BY HOLLIS KENNEY)

Imagine Skiing all summer

2010-07-09T15:44:00.000-06:00

Deep in the heat of summer Colette Maddock stayed cool covering the advent of the summer sport that has winter written all over it: wave skiing. An intern at Skiing Magazine in Boulder, Colorado, she has been covering the environmental impacts of climate change on winter sports, working on the magazine's gear review and writing for the magazine's Web site, SkiingMag.com.

"It's awesome here," she says. "I've been writing a ton of articles and helping to reform the online resort guide. It's been really busy, but it's great."
Her wave skiing piece focused on a team of professional skiers who adapted alpine bindings to the aloha environment. Now they're carving turns and pulling freestyle stunts they had previously only dreamed of.

Photo: Skier Chuck Patterson gets his sea legs/ Mike Jones

Tornado stirs Gilleran to action in Billings

2010-06-26T23:11:00.000-06:00

When a tornado shredded an arena in Billings, it was up to UM intern Emerald Gilleran to keep the news relevant to readers of the weekly Billings Outpost. She hustled to the damaged sites, talked to the tornado response team leaders and took a general accounting of damages.

Emerald has become a mainstay on the the front page of the Outpost, with election day and other stories keeping her byline out front.

Photo: Debris wrapped around a tree at MetraPark.Courtesy of NILE

Gilleran stalks voters, hears, taxes, yes!

2010-06-15T09:21:00.000-06:00

Election Day had Emerald Gilleran chasing news all over Billings and netted her a page one round up story for the Billings Outpost. She even found a voter who said paying taxes is ok with her! Talk about a diversity of voices.

What are you covering that raises eyebrows or pulse rates? Let me know so I can share it with others. Email me at nadia.white@umontana.edu.

Cole and Alger take it to the Front Page

2010-06-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

Tyson Alger at the Oregonian and Erin Cole at the Flathead Beacon have jumped into their respective internships feet first. Alger earned a front page spot with his local reaction-to-the-reaction piece on umpire Jim Joyce's blown perfect game call. At the Beacon, Cole made it to the front page with a politics piece about judicial elections. She's also making a regular appearance writing for the most entertaining police blotter in Montana.

How is your internship going? Let me know what's making you smile and I'll share it. (Let me know via email if things are making you cry, I can't promise to help, but I'll try. Be patient, internet connections are sparse for me.) nadia.white(at)umontana(dot)edu

Photographers -- It's never too early to share the best of what you're shooting. Help me dress up GrizBeat by sending along not too big .jpgs: nadia.white(at)umontana(dot)edu

A virtual Griz watercooler for Summer 2010

2010-05-18T10:38:00.001-06:00

Phew. You got your internship. You're learning the ropes and getting your feet wet committing, I hope, daily acts of journalism. If everything around you seems new, let this site be a place to touch base with a community of old friends, or at least people you've seen around Don Anderson Hall.

As summer goes by I will post updates about what you and your classmates are doing out there on the road -- so please let me know via email -- nadia.white@umontana.edu -- when you have a particularly mind-blowing experience on the job: a front page story or photo, a first multi-media piece posted, you meet a long-time hero or witness history in the making. Please put Internship in the subject line, to make it my priority, and be sure to include links to your work and small .jpgs of your photos.

I will also post reminders about your sole responsibility to the school this summer: About midway through your internship, please submit your midterm evaluation. This is by you, and is an assessment of how your internship is going halfway through. You can find that form and any others you need to get credit for this class by way of a link an the lefthand sidebar or at http://www.jour.umt.edu/current-students/internships. Print it out, fill it in, and fax it to my attention at: 406-243-4650.

As your internship approaches its conclusion, please have your supervisor complete the supervisor’s evaluation. It is also available at the above URL. Please note that you and your supervisor must sign that completed form.

Remember to bring at least three samples of your work. These go into your file and become part of your graduation portfolio. You must have the three forms (Learning Agreement, Mid-Term Evaluation and Supervisors evaluation, plus work samples) to get credit for your internship.

We'll have a couple of photo contests along the way, too, to provide windows into each other’s world. These, of course, aren’t mandatory, but will help keep us all together as summer flies by. Sometime this summer (before the bitter end):

Send me a picture of yourself that captures you doing your job.
And send me a news photo that you took that has a story behind it.
If you have a blog and will be writing about your work experience this summer, please consider sharing that with everyone. Send me the URL and I’ll post it on the blog.
Every Friday I will post an open thread post. If you are struggling with some aspect of your internship and would like to throw it out to your classmates to help with — story ideas; lousy boss; unfriendly news room; too friendly newsroom, you can post it as a comment to the Open Thread post. Others can then answer you through their own comments.

I will be traveling all of June and July. If you need me, email me at nadia.white@umontana.edu. You can follow my blog at http://travelswithjosie.com, if you’d like.

Have a great summer!

-- Nadia

Thanks to Mango Media for the graphic.

Photo contest: Dancin' in the streets

2009-08-11T09:35:00.005-06:00

Montana Standard interns Laura Lundquist and Megan Wyckoff are sandwiched between two groups of dancers at the An Ri Ra festival in Butte. Meg, the shooter on the right, says the shot "marked the end of our festival coverage for the summer (in all we did three) and pretty much the end of our internship." Meg caught these members of the Tiernan Dance Group just before they went on stage.

Photo contest: Proud Opitz at the Sentinel

2009-08-11T09:09:00.004-06:00

J-school chum Charlie Baser took this shot to celebrate photographer Amanda Opitz's first cover photo early in Amanda's internship at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Amanda's visitors this summer also included Rollo Scott and Jillian Wilson.

Photo contest: Chris Williams on the trail

2009-08-10T12:57:00.003-06:00

"This is me and my pup Schuck on a solo deep in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. We went out on July 31st to gear test a DSLR backcountry camera holster, a leatherman type tool, and a flask."

Chris works for Backpacker magazine, based in Boulder, Colo.

Photo contest: Ivy Garlow in Katmandu

2009-08-10T12:45:00.004-06:00

Here's intern Ivy Garlow with the Sadhus (holy men) at Pashupatinath Temple on the bank of Bagmati River in Katmandu, Nepal.

Photo contest: Charlie Baser on the job

2009-08-10T12:38:00.004-06:00

"Here's a photo of me that was supposed to run in the September issue of Skiing as the photo for a bit titled 'This Month in Unnecessary Gear.' We've had to make some serious page cuts so sadly this didn't make publication, but I thought it was worth throwing in for this photo contest. The best part is that I got to keep the hat. I'm pretty excited to have it for cold Montana winters."

Photo contest: Missoulian intern Alaina Abbott

2009-08-07T09:30:00.004-06:00

Missoulian photographer Michael Gallacher snapped this photo of Alaina. "If journalism tanks you seem to have what it takes to be a firefighter," he told her.

Wilson finds magazine work exciting and fun

2009-08-04T10:16:00.007-06:00

Jillian Wilson is working as an intern for magazine publisher Bozzi Media in Spokane. Here's how she describes her summer:

"My internship has been a great experience so far. I have been able to learn a lot more about design work, which has been fun because I am really interested in pursuing that in the future. The environment I work in is great. The people are really friendly and super helpful.

"I think I surprised my supervisor with how many different skills I already had just from the classes we've had to take; they were able to get me involved in many more things because of this. I have been taking lots of pictures for four different magazines published by Bozzi Media (Prime Magazine, IB Catalyst Magazine, Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living Magazine, and Washington State Magazine), whether that be for ads, stories, or graphics. I was really happy when the editor of Spokane Cd'A asked if I wanted to write a short article. I now not only get to take photos but they are letting me work on my writing as well, so that has been exciting.

"I have to say that what I have enjoyed the most, along with getting my name out there, has been meeting people and making connections. I've taken photos of the Coeur d'Alene tribal chief, eaten AMAZING French cuisine after taking pictures of the owners and their food for a restaurant review, and been introduced to some of the youngest and best business professionals in Spokane. The people have been genuinely nice, and it's fun getting to know them and their backgrounds. I've realized that the magazine industry is where I want to be and work, whether it be as a designer, photographer, editor, or if I'm lucky, a jack of all trades.

"It's a proud feeling when you see your work in a magazine that reaches hundreds of thousands of people."

Muhlestein captures summer in Missoula

2009-08-03T11:35:00.004-06:00

Missoulian intern Alisia Muhlestein has been turning heads with her photographs, several of which have made the front page. Here's a slideshow of some of her work earlier this summer.

Eschbach's work in Washington wins award

2009-08-03T10:53:00.006-06:00

Junior photographer Adam Eschbach, interning this summer at the Issaquah Press, has been awarded a $500 grant by the the the Washington Newspaper Association. He is one of six interns whose work this summer at Washington state newspapers was so honored.

In her nomination letter, editor Kathleen Merrill wrote that Adam arrived in time to shoot the paper's graduation section. "Adam has been going nonstop since he got here - during the week, weekends, early in the morning and late at night."

Caption: Melise Woodward gets set to catch her son, Brady, as he jumps into Pine Lake to get relief from the area's record high temperatures. (Photo by Adam Eschbach)

Gyermek gets ink-stained at the Indy

2009-07-29T11:20:00.005-06:00

Here's Megan Gyermek's report on her summer so far at the Missoula Independent:

"The beginning of the summer was spent getting things ready for the big Best of Missoula issue, but now I am writing! I also wrote up some of the Best Of blurbs, but no bylines appeared. My first publication was two weeks ago, with an agenda piece on the Bicycle Benefits scavenger hunt. This past issue I wrote an info piece on Missoula's growing poverty and the communities "unaffordable" housing market. Thursday another info will be published on the New Blackfoot shuttle service for tubers, Capt'n Trip, which began this summer."

Opitz shoots the summer scene in Santa Cruz

2009-07-23T10:14:00.006-06:00

Photographer Amanda Opitz reports in from the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

"Sorry I haven't contributed yet to the blog. I've had so much fun catching up with everybody else's stuff. As a group, we're producing some really great work! Last week I covered the biggest rodeo in California. We only covered one night of it because it's a little out of our jurisdiction, but there were a couple fun photos. The two that got published in the paper (including the bullfighter you see) actually aren't in the slideshow for some reason. But here's a little taste... http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_12860683 "

Surf's up: Drew Vetere finds fun in the sun

2009-07-22T13:12:00.011-06:00

Graduate student Drew Vetere is covering a big stretch of California's beach country this summer for the Coastline Pilot and the Daily Pilot, serving the communities of Newport, Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach. Here are links to video stories he's done on surfing and local artists.

Eschbach lights up the Issaquah Press

2009-07-20T11:35:00.004-06:00

Photographer Adam Eschbach caught up with the Valentine Performing Pigs during Issaquah's Fourth of July celebration. He sent us a link to more of his work:

Adam: "This is a PDF of the June 17th paper. I shot 3 graduations at Safeco Field all on a 4 page spread. I also shot the front page photo."

Cerra focuses on summer fun in North Idaho

2009-07-19T23:02:00.006-06:00

Junior Jusin Cerra a working as a photojournalist this summer at the Coeur d'Alene Press, shooting everything from triathlons to parades. He's done some multimedia work, too. Here's what he has to say about it:

"They are working me pretty hard, but I'm having a great time. The regular photogs are supremely talented and have been a big help. I knew by looking at their stuff before I came that I had a huge learning curve but from the few things I've heard from readers, I've been doing a fine job so far."

Grant takes Aspen Daily News by storm

2009-07-06T13:29:00.009-06:00

Graduate student Will Grant came to UM to learn how to cover nature, among other things. That's what he's doing this summer as a reporting intern for the Aspen Daily News. So far, he's written about forest-eating pine beetles, leaf-gobbling aphids and water-saving wetlands, among other things (documentarian Ken Burns, wild horses, farmers' markets ...) He's working alongside j-school alum Curtis Wackerle, who has this to say about Will's contribution to the paper:

"We are loving having Will around, especially in this age of budget cuts and shrinking staffs. Aspen Daily has taken full advantage with three editorial interns this summer, all of whom show up us paid staffers on a regular basis ... so that's kind of scary. But seriously, the AP has picked up three of Will's stories already, which is well above average. He's good."

Cate Oliver offers slices of California life, art

2009-07-06T13:03:00.005-06:00

Graduate student Cate Oliver is getting plenty of video work this summer at California's Ventura County Star. She sends us links to cool features she produced on musical art, singing hikers and long-table dinners in the countryside. It's so California.

Colter Nuanez feasts on summer features

2009-06-29T10:54:00.006-06:00

Missoulian sports intern Colter Nuanez is churing out the features this summer. He sends us links to articles on the Missoula Osprey's Korean connection, a women's three-on-three basketball tournament and the Little Grizzly summer football camp. Check 'em out.

You'll see that our own Alicia Muhlestein shot the photo accompanying the basketball story. Grad student Adrienne Barnett took the Little Grizzly shot and also produced a video on the camp.

Go Griz.

'Fishy, fishy in the brook ...'

2009-06-25T11:14:00.005-06:00

Missoulian intern Adrienne Barnett took her video camera along on a special fishing trip last week. Here's what she caught.

NewWest's Rybus covers Kalispell's Pride Parade

2009-06-24T10:27:00.005-06:00

Kalispell played host last weekend to its first Montana Pride Celebration, and Greta Rybus captured the event in words and photos for NewWest.Net. Have a look.

Ashley Klein takes on suburban journalism

2009-06-22T10:33:00.004-06:00

Ashley is interning this summer with a group of suburban papers serving in the northeast corner of her hometown of Minneapolis. Here's her report:

"The internship is going pretty well. It's really laid back. I'm doing a little bit of everything. I have written a few stories, I have designed a few pages and I have taken and edited some pictures. I've started a portfolio of everything that I've written, and I'll grab some of my favorite designs at the end of the summer. They use Quark, so it was an adjustment at the beginning.

"Working with a color paper is more fun than black and white. I may be biased, but I think that stylistically, the Kaimin is a little better than these papers. Oh yeah, so it's less confusing, I work at the Sun and Press papers, which publishes 44 community papers each week. I am writing and designing for the Osseo-Maple Grove Press, Crow River News and Dayton-Champlin Press. It's nice learning about the western metro because I am from the eastern metro. It is a long drive in traffic though."

On the trail with Chris Williams in Boulder

2009-06-22T09:37:00.008-06:00

Chris, who is interning this summer for Backpacker magazine in Boulder, reports he's having a blast and learning a lot. "I was hired on as the photo intern but I have been involved with some design work, and I have pitched a few video ideas for the web site," he writes. "I'm really hoping to get to work more with the web site and test out my filming and editing skills."

So far, he's been editing images of some of his favorite photographers "so that has been pretty cool." He describes his co-workers as "super laid back" but very involved with the subject matter. "They all bike to work and take weekend trips camping, climbing, biking, floating, etc."

It's encouraged. In fact, he says, the coolest part of the internship so far is the opportunity to test gear for the magazine's reveiws. Chris has done some of that and is hoping to do more.

Otherwise, he says he's been trying to "lay on the charm" and network to "maybe, hopefully, someday, possibly" work fulltime in outdoor journalism.

Missoulians go online to keep up with Iran crisis

2009-06-18T09:21:00.002-06:00

UM intern Steve Miller has a good story in today's Missoulian about how locals are using social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook to keep up with the protests in Iran.

Photog Charlie Baser cruises at Skiing magazine

2009-06-11T10:19:00.005-06:00

"The first few weeks of my internship have been pretty cool so far. I was blown away by our offices when I got here. Skiing shares a building with Ski Magazine and Warren Miller Films and we have everything from a game room with foosball and video games to beer on tap in one of the three kitchens to a gym and locker room. We even have a gondola hanging from the ceiling of the lobby. Crazy.

"In case you couldn't tell already, the working environment here is super laid back as well. On the first Friday I was there we had a product meeting where they served mojitos and on the second Friday we the first company barbecue of the summer. Not what I expected from my internship during a summer where the journalism and media industries are suffering and being forced to make cutbacks.

"The work has been mostly fun so far, too. On my second day there I was set free in our studio to shoot equipment for Skiing's annual Gear Guide. I had to figure out studio lighting and how to style products and apparel. Definitely different from the photo stories and more documentary shooting that I have been doing in school. It has been really fun to get to figure out how to shoot skis, helmets, gloves, boots and even beer on my own (although the photo editor is always around and happy to help me with problems I come across) and to know that a lot of the images of gear that come out in the September issue will be my photographs. I have been doing a lot of less-exciting managing and organizing of photos as well, things like getting images from photographers, creating work orders and putting in hours upon hours of Photoshop time. My InDesign experience from this last semester also comes in handy daily. I even got to show my photo editor how to do something on it the other day (thank you, Keith).

"So far, so good at Skiing and in Boulder. I'm looking forward to hearing about everyone's experiences on the blog!"

Top this: Karen Garcia gets to walk on glaciers

2009-06-09T10:16:00.012-06:00

Print junior Karen Garcia is doing a little of everything this summer as she interns with the Turnagain Times, based in Girdwood, Alaska. Here's her report:

"Things in Alaska are all right, I suppose. I am writing many stories in addition to taking photos. Last week I went on a helicopter tour of the Chugach mountains and glaciers (a $350 tour which I got to do for free. Awesome.) which culminated in landing on Colony Glacier and walking about in the wilderness. I got some sweet pictures of that (the one used in the paper is attached). Also did a story on the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center's current Wood Bison and Black Bear Mountain projects as well as the "Bird to Gird" 13-mile bike path. I helped to layout the issue and copyedited half of the stories.

"This week I am interviewing this guy who makes these amazing wood sculptures, in addition to interviewing the new dentist in Girdwood (the old one just left). I am also hiking and biking Mt. Alyeska and writing about that trail system and talking to the trail supervisor."

Webster finds his way as MQ's editorial assistant

2009-06-05T11:53:00.009-06:00

Grad student Mike Webster is working hard at Montana Quarterly magazine, but he found time to file this report on his first week of work:

"The first week of my internship has been great and not lacking variety. Montana Quarterly is owned by the same parent company as the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, so in addition to working on the Quarterly's fall issue, I also help edit a few of the Chronicle's niche publications: At Home, Business to Business and Balance (a women's health magazine). This involves everything from copy editing, writing cutlines and occasionally, at my discretion, writing short pieces for the closing pages. My first piece, due next week, is a 200-350 word profile that pays $75, their freelance fee and the only way they can pay me for the summer (slowly chipping away at the 1-credit tuition). I'm also on the masthead now for the niche pubs as an 'editorial assistant.'

"On my second day I also sat in on the editorial meeting to discuss content for the fall issue of Montana Quarterly. Later that day I pitched two story ideas that are still strongly being considered for the fall issue. A small possibility exists that I might get to write one of them. On any given day, I also read (and largely reject) story submissions, and research and track down leads for story ideas: contacting publicists, searching for historical photos, surfing the web and making phone calls to see if a potential story has legs, contacting sources, etc. But really, a good deal of time is spent talking with the managing editor (my boss) and photo editor, both of whom share a general work area with me. We bounce story ideas off each other, browse headlines and otherwise just shoot the breeze. It's a great work environment, and I'm lucky enough to be near a large window with a view of the Bridger Mountains.

"So far, so good!"

Lundquist mines the news in Butte, America

2009-06-05T11:34:00.005-06:00

Graduate student Laura Lundquist is already making waves as a reporter at the Montana Standard this summer. Her first byline of the summer was on a story about the state's plans for dealing with Montana's high-profile gray wolf population. Who knew that she would be writing about mill levies too?

Missoulian interns make their mark

2009-06-05T10:13:00.005-06:00

Alaina Abbott and Allison Maier are off to fast starts this summer as reporters for the Garden City's venerable daily. Both are getting plenty of bylines. Among other stories, Allison has written about the financial troubles of Missoula's new daytime drop-in center for the homeless. Alaina told us about Alberton's efforts to deal with the recession by opening a food bank.

Three other UM students are scheduled to work at the Missoulian this summer. Watch for the work of Adrienne Barnett, Steve Miller and Colter Nuanez.

Yo interns! Welcome to Grizbeat

2009-05-18T12:52:00.004-06:00

This site is your link to the j-school this summer. I'll be posting news and other information over the summer to keep you up to speed with what's going on at school and what your fellowing interns are doing. (Watch for the submission contests, too.)

Don't be shy about sharing your experiences. E-mail me anything (almost anything) that you'd like for me to share with your mates. You can reach me at dennis.swibold@umontana.edu.

Swibold

UM Summer Interns Span the Globe this Summer

2009-05-15T13:27:00.006-06:00

Click on the globe for a map locating this summer's interns.

That's a Wrap; Back to School

2008-08-25T08:28:00.004-06:00

Thanks to all of you interns who did good work across the globe, and especially to those of you who shared your experiences on the blog.

We're back in school today, so don't forget to formally end your internship credit by sending me those supervisor evaluations and three sames of your work.

By the way, and though it pains me to write it, Bill Oram wins the photo contest. He'll be absolutely insufferable now.

Photo Contest: A Fish Story

2008-08-16T10:56:00.005-06:00

Here's what happened when photo intern April Gregory was sent to Chamberlain, S.D., to photograph people fishing for walleye on the Missouri River.

"Chamberlain is a 2 1/2 hour drive from Sioux Falls, where I interned at the Argus Leader, and by the time I got to Chamberlain I only had an hour to find a fisherman. I drove around and couldn't find ANYONE. Finally, I found a teenager putting his boat in the water and convinced him to drive me around on his boat looking for fisherman. We didn't find any, but I got a free boat ride!"

Copy Editors' Pet Peeves

2008-08-14T14:50:00.003-06:00

Ashley Zuelke sent this video detailing the mistakes that most annoy this year's Dow Jones editing interns. Check it out.

Photo Contest: Highway Karaoke

2008-08-13T10:22:00.004-06:00

Tiffany Wilson bursts into song on her way back from shooting harvest scenes ("combine huntin' ") for Fort Benton's River Press. Her sister, who snapped this picture, insists that her inclusion of the "dork" air freshener was purely coincidence. Vote for this photo by posting a comment.

Photo Contest: The Queen Bee

2008-08-12T19:21:00.006-06:00

Here's what happens when you give a bored Glasgow Courier intern a roll of yellow tape. Erica Doornek insists that her ensemble is much more striking in color.

Photo Contest: Curds and Whey

2008-08-11T13:45:00.005-06:00

Here's our Laura Newman touring the Tillamook Cheese Factory in none other than Bill Oram's hometown of Tillamook, Ore. Laura is interning for a group of small newspapers that includes the Tillamook Headlight Herald, the Cannon Beach Gazette and the Seaside Signal. Vote for this photo by posting a comment.

Photo Contest: Kristine's Getaway

2008-08-09T22:53:00.004-06:00

Photo intern Kristine Paulsen sent this self-portrait while on assignment for the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Here's how she described the day:

"I was sent out on an assignment to Portland Island in British Columbia to do a shoot for the P-I's "Getaways" tab. It was super fun - I took several ferries, caught a tiny boat to the island and was left there overnight (to camp) and a good portion of the next day to just explore. Twist my arm, right? The island was incredibly beautiful and I found myself really enjoying this lone little arbutus tree on one of the island's several points. This is when I love, love, love my job."

Photo Contest: Kelly Blackhawk

2008-08-09T10:41:00.002-06:00

Our own Kelly Black was shooting a feature on Homeland Security at a Great Falls elementary school recently when the pilot of this Blackhawk helicopter insisted on taking a picture of her at the controls. She looks like a natural, don't you think?

Photo Contest: Where's the Fire?

2008-08-08T10:08:00.004-06:00

Billings Gazette intern Molly Priddy took a turn at covering wildfires this summer. Fire coverage seems to have become a rite of passage for our interns in the West. You can vote for this picture by leaving a comment.

Photo Contest: Weaver on the Scene

2008-08-06T11:01:00.005-06:00

Melissa Weaver, a reporter for the Santa Cruz Sentinel, swears she's sending a better picture, but until she does, let's use this one of her getting ready to cover a wildfire. Vote for your favorite by adding a comment.

Photo Contest: Erica at the Races

2008-08-06T10:55:00.004-06:00

I couldn't resist entering this photo of Erica Doornek and her father running a foot race. Talk about sacrificing yourself for the profession. Vote for your favorite photo by sending in a comment.

Photo Contest: Slemberger & Friend

2008-08-05T20:34:00.005-06:00

Joe Slemberger worked this summer for the Missoula AIDs Council. Don't ask me to explain what this had to do with work. Vote for this photo by posting a comment.

Photo Contest: Everything's Big in Texas

2008-08-05T09:52:00.005-06:00

Here's the second entry in the intern portrait contest. It isn't exactly a photo of Bill Oram at work but, hey, if you don't eat you can't work. You can vote for this photo, as well as others, by filing a comment.

Former Kaimin Sports Editor Danny Davis actually wants credit for having taken this photo.

Photo Contest: Let the Voting Begin

2008-08-01T10:59:00.008-06:00

You can vote for your favorite photo of a UM intern on the job by commenting on the post for each photo. We'll run the contest until Aug. 15. The only rule is that you cannot vote for your own photo. The prize: a 4gb thumb drive.

Our first entry features Lucas Hamilton, a press aide to the U.S. Senate's Finance Committee, with former Montana Sen. Conrad Burns. Strange bedfellows, indeed.

Trevon Meets a Mogul

2008-07-31T15:50:00.006-06:00

Our own Trevon Milliard is working as a crack reporter for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and having so much fun that we may have to drag him back to school. Like other interns this summer, Trevon witnessed some of the newspaper industry's woes; the Chronicle recently announced a round of layoffs due to advertising losses. But he's also seen how exciting and interesting a reporter's life can be - as on the day he met his first media mogul.

Here's how he tells it:

"The first day on the job in May, I was doing a story about a Ted’s Montana Grill opening in town. It’s a restaurant chain co-founded by Ted Turner that has more than 50 restaurants in America specializing in bison meat. Ironically enough, this was the first Montana Grill in the state of Montana.

"I went to the restaurant just to catch a glimpse of the construction work being done and was being shown around by the proprietor when Ted Turner walked in. The restaurant owner was just as surprised as I was.

"He introduced me to Ted Turner, and I asked a few questions before he jetted.

"Since then, I’ve been the general assignment reporter here, doing everything from covering a rally of 50 super cars touring the US driven by the rich of the rich, like Paris Hilton.

"One of the drivers - a professional race car driver - took me for a heart-pounding ride on the road that winds up Lone Peak in a $250,000 super car called a Spyker Spyder built in Holland.

"Another day, I rode a horse named Jesse (I called him Jesse James) on the thin trail up the Spanish Mountains. First real horse ride for me, and we even crossed a few creeks that were deep and gushing from all the run-off this spring.

"Tomorrow is never even similar to today or yesterday, and I never spend an entire eight hours at my desk."

A Cool Summer in Kathmandu

2008-07-21T12:32:00.006-06:00

Senior Tess McEnroe claims the distinction of being our farthest flung intern this summer. She's working for the Kathmandu Post in Kathmandu, Nepal, for nine weeks. In writing stories and taking photos for the paper's local section, her coverage has ranged from from arts and entertainment news to political protests. She's also traveling the country, documenting the nation's vibrant tourism industry. After college, she hopes to continue her travels while working for international publications and pursing documentary work.

Bess Davis Goes 'MoJo' in Indy

2008-07-18T09:41:00.005-06:00

Besides meeting Pulitizer Prize-winning columnist Clarence Page, our own Elizabeth Davis is flexing her wings this summer as an online journalist for the Indianapolis Star, thanks to a Dow Jones internship she won last fall. The experience, beginning with a multimedia project at a special online boot camp, has been an eye-opener, Elizabeth reports.

"As an online intern for the Indianpolis Star, I’ve realized the versatility it takes to be a stand-out journalist in the age of new media journalism.

"I’ve spend five weeks so far watching the back end of the Web site, keeping breaking news updated and writing a couple of news briefs every day. After developing some cabin fever from sitting in the air-conditioned office, I took the initiative and found a fresh angle to build on a breaking news piece I was covering. As a result, my first story printed in the paper was an A1 centerpiece about scalpers selling on eBay what were supposed to be free tickets for the public to tour the new NFL stadium and site of the 2012 Superbowl. The story became the most read and commented story of the week on our Web site and included a continuously updated Web story, a printed package and a video I produced with a coworker.

"After cutting my teeth on the ticket story and showing my editors what I can do, I’ve been offered a 12-day field assignment blogging at the Indiana State Fair. I will be a fully loaded “MoJo” with a laptop, camera, video cam and audio recorder, capturing whatever stories I find unique or inspiring and filing from the field. As a West-coast vegan at a Midwest state fair, I like to think of this as my venture into foreign correspondence."

Hamilton on the Hill

2008-07-11T10:48:00.004-06:00

Our own Lucas Hamilton is doing publicity this summer for one of the the U.S. Senate's most powerful committees, the Finance Committee, chaired by Montana Sen. Max Baucus.

The job, Lucas says, includes writing press releases and formatting speeches and statements for public consumption. Sometimes it involves assisting reporters working on stories.

Recently, the Finance Committee held a "summit" conference on reforming health, and Lucas helped out in a number of areas. Here's what he says:

"I actually got to put to use some of the design skills I learned from Printer last semester to put together some TV slates and signs. My boss was impressed, and I owe it all to Printer and the News Editing II class.

"During the event, besides being a runner, I was also T.R. Reid’s handler. Mr. Reid, a veteran Washington Post bureau chief (in several different corners of the world) recently made a Frontline documentary on international healthcare that Sen. Baucus is rather fond of. Anyway, in my chatting with him throughout the day, we somehow got on the subject of teachers at UM. I guess he used to know or know of Professor Work. It’s a small world. Anyway, he says hi."

UM Photog Hits the Big Time

2008-07-10T12:22:00.007-06:00

The credit is too small to read, but the AP photo of the Rev. Jesse Jackson on this cover of the NY Times Web site was taken by none other than our own Russel Daniels. Very cool. (Click on the photo for a larger view.)

Ashley McKee on her Hometown Internship:

2008-07-09T12:38:00.008-06:00

"The Missoulian is a wonderful place to shoot. The staff is very encouraging and full of advice so I am more motivated to be a journalist daily. I was skeptical about shooting the town I grew up in, but I am excited to see what the photo assignment sheet has in store for me every day.

"My favorite assignments so far are the ones that take me way into the backwoods of Montana. Two weeks ago I traveled into the mountains near Superior to shoot archaeologists restoring an old Chinese mining community called China Gulch. It is over 100 years old and sits in the middle of the mountains. Yesterday I got to travel again into the Lolo National Forest, but closer to Bonner. We drove about an hour into the mountains and finally had to stop the truck and start hiking because the roads were so bad. They were restoring a fire lookout built in the 1930s called Mineral Peak Lookout. We were so high in elevation we could see a miniature Snobowl Ski Area and the Rattlesnake Wilderness. It was beautiful! If this is what I signed up for to do for the rest of my I am a very lucky person!

"The picture I sent you is of a bunch of young high school cowboys perched on a fence at a high school rodeo. It was my first cover shot for the Missoulian and it ran without a story!"

Send in those Mid-term Reports!

2008-07-07T14:19:00.005-06:00

Most of you are approaching the midway point of your internships, so don't forget to fill out and send me a mid-term evaluation. Mail it, or fax it, or make a pdf. of it and e-mail it to me ... whatever. Just make sure I get it soon.

Make sure you comment on how your online or multimedia skills (or lack thereof) affected you work.

For those of you who are almost finished, remember that you have to send me a signed Final Evaluation and three samples of your work. Otherwise, you'll get an "incomplete" for the internship.

Beyond the Psychic Salary ...

2008-07-07T13:45:00.006-06:00

Here's an interesting link Dean Kuhr asked me to pass along about journalism careers and salaries. Keep in mind that changes are happening quickly and salaries vary widely by region and the size of the organization that employs you. These are median salaries, which mean half of those reporting in any category are doing better -- and half are doing worse.

Anything for a Column

2008-06-28T10:21:00.004-06:00

Glasgow Courier intern Erica Doornek, struggles to finish the 5K race in Glasgow's annual Longest Dam Run. She finished with a time of 42:21, one second before her father, Jerry, right. Erica recounted the experience in column for the paper.

My favorite passage:

"After a few stretches of walk/jogging, my arms grew leaden, my breath came in desperate gulps, and a sourness grew in my stomach. That morning’s Cheerios began churning violently upward, and my retching signaled an imminent disaster. I somehow managed to not puke, but it may have been better if I had."

Some Stories Take Time, Patience

2008-06-24T13:13:00.003-06:00

Grad student Elizabeth Harrison has a story in NewWest.net this week about the danger big wind-power projects pose to creatures that fly. She began gathering string for the article in her graduate reporting class last fall.

"I got word about this study last fall, and followed it until now," Elizabeth writes. "The story changed directions within the course of that time, and by staying on it that long, I ended up with a newsworthy angle. With something like this, it could go on for a few years still. Who knows what they will find after another year of monitoring?"

McClatchy Interns Get 'Wake-up Call'

2008-06-17T11:05:00.008-06:00

Two UM interns started their jobs Monday at papers in Washington state owned by the McClatchy Co., where the big news was staff cuts.

"Boy, what a day to start my internship," wrote copy desk intern Virginia Cleaveland. "As you probably know, McClatchy announced a 10 percent companywide cut, which meant four people from the Bellingham Herald found out today that they are going to be laid off. It was a tense first day, but editor after editor kept coming up to me and apologizing and luckily no one took it out on me."

Meanwhile, down at McClatchy's News Tribune in Tacoma, Dow Jones copy desk intern Ashley Zuelke was having a similar experience.

"The News Tribune offered buyouts today to five staff members, two of whom are copy editors," Ashley wrote Monday. "To say the least, it was a weird day. I walked into the newsroom halfway through the meeting. The staff spoke in hushed tones as people were pulled into conference rooms throughout the day to discuss their severance pay. I wrote one headline and shadowed for most of my shift -- my team leader was slightly occupied. But, it was an exercise in moxie and a wake-up call that I will keep in mind for a long time."

Our Man in Austin ... or is it Houston?

2008-06-17T10:32:00.005-06:00

Austin Statesman-American intern Bill Oram was asked recently to string a high school all-star baseball game for the Houston Chronicle, America's 10th largest daily newspaper. Here's what he had to say about it:

"It was cool to be writing for such a huge and respected paper," Bill writes. "However, it didn't make anything any easier. No stats were provided. I guess no matter what level you're working at it's all still the same skills. And while getting published in the Chronicle is fairly glamorous, the actual process of reporting and writing is no more so than it is for any other publication."

Bill details the whole story on his blog.

Weaver Wrestles a Wildfire

2008-06-13T11:08:00.013-06:00

Santa Cruz Sentinel intern Melissa Weaver (that's her in the firefighter togs) wins the race for submitting the first wildfire story of the summer. You can bet more are on the way.

"It's the second fire in three weeks, which is a bad sign because fire season usually isn't until late summer," Melissa writes. "A staff photographer and I got to tag along with the fire crew today. He has worked for the Sentinel for 20 years, so he knows everyone. It was fun to drive past all the big city reporters from papers like the SF Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News and get the local angle. I didn't get to put my name on the main story, as it is a composite from all the reporters who went out, but it was still a really cool experience."

Sean Makes Good in the Magic Valley

2008-06-12T16:49:00.008-06:00

Former Kaimin editor Sean Breslin is writing stories, designing pages and taking long walks in the high desert around Twin Falls, Idaho, this summer. He's also keeping an entertaining journal of his experiences as an intern for the daily Times-News. Drop him a line.

The Art of Hanging Out

2008-06-10T15:03:00.008-06:00

Photojournalists need sharp eyes and speedy reflexes, but patience and a comfy folding chair can come in handy too. So says Chicago AP intern Russel Daniels, who was sent to photograph Antonin Rezko, an prominent Illinois businessman recently convicted of corruption.

"I patiently waited two full workdays while sitting in a black canvas foldup chair to get word of the 20-minute advance media warning from a federal judge that the jury had come back with a verdict," Russel writes. "As I waited, I read, and reread the Tribune and the Sun-Times, ate peanut butter-and-honey sandwiches, and became gratefully exposed to the colorful array of Chicago's major print and broadcast journalists."

When the 20-minute warning came, Russel called his editor, who dispatched veteran AP photographer Charles Rex Arbogast, in a cab, to join the gaggle of photographers vying capture Rezko's every move as he entered the federal court building for the verdict.

"My photos didn't even get uploaded let alone sent out on the wire," Russel says. "Hands down Charles' photos were superior. That night, Charles' court exterior photos ran all over the Internet, and in every major newspaper I picked up in the newsroom the next day."

Russel learned a lot in those two days, and he's eager to pass it on to those likely to find themselves on similar stakeouts. "Bring some aspirin," he writes, "to ease the discomfort from the lack of lower back support in fold up chairs."

PS -- That's Russel's shot of photogs hanging out in the lobby of Chicago's federal court building.

Takin' it to the Streets

2008-06-10T14:30:00.004-06:00

Melissa Weaver, our intrepid correspondent at California's Santa Cruz Sentinel, reports that when students at UC-Santa Cruz protest, they don't mess around.

"I covered a pretty intense student protest and made the front page during my first week," she writes. "It put the UM protests to shame. Two hundred-plus students and UC Santa Cruz workers got together in matching t-shirts and matched downtown ... blocking a major intersection for two hours."

Her story got picked up by the Mercury News, a bigger paper in nearby San Jose.

Save the McCookies for November

2008-06-04T14:42:00.006-06:00

NewWest.net intern Kaylee Porter spent Tuesday working on a color piece about the primary election. Here's her favorite interview of the day:

"The most entertaining conversation I had was with a fourth grader who was manning the bake sale outside the polls at Paxon Elementary," she said. "They had five cookies with John McCain's face taped to them. He told me they used to have Clinton and Obama faces as well but they sold fast -- as did the cookies with puppies on them."

Following Bill in the Bitterroot

2008-06-02T15:13:00.004-06:00

Whitney Bermes, an intern at the Ravalli Republic, had an eventful first week on the job. Here's what she had to say:

"So my first week on the job at the Ravalli Republic had me doing a little presidential campaign coverage of my own. Bill Clinton made a stop in Stevensville on Sunday, and I was lucky enough to cover it. But luckily I didn't have to do that 'Bill Clinton came and gave a speech' story. I just did a crowd reaction piece and it was wonderful. Very surreal seeing ol' Bill in speaking from the bed of a pick up truck in front of Stevi High.

"And I think my favorite part of the day was afterwards when my editor, Perry Backus, told me he had waited 20 years in his career to cover something like this and I got to cover it in my first week :)"

Bill Oram Almost Makes Deadline

2008-05-31T15:00:00.003-06:00

When Kaimin editor Bill Oram isn't cranking out sports copy for the Austin American-Statesman, he's writing about his intern experiences for his blog, "Assignment: Austin." It's a hoot. Take a minute and read his hilarious account of what happened when he lost his web connection 25 minutes before before his baseball game story was due.

Porter Makes a Mark at NewWest.net

2008-05-30T15:47:00.008-06:00

Billings Gazette reporter Molly Priddy isn't the only UM intern writing about the presidential race. Kaylee Porter, an intern this summer at NewWest.net, covered Hillary Clinton's recent campaign stop in Pablo. Kaylee also did a bang-up job covering a Missoula forum on racism and sexism in the presidential campaign.

Molly Priddy Tracks Obama, Clinton

2008-05-30T10:25:00.012-06:00

Features and fairs are typical assignments for summer interns, but grad student Molly Priddy, a reporter for the Billings Gazette, is getting a rare chance to write about presidential politics. Molly reported on Sen. Barack Obama's recent visit to the Crow Reservation and grabbed some crowd reaction to Sen. Hillary Clinton's visit Wedensday. Molly also covered yesterday's speech from Chelsea Clinton who came to Billings in support of her mom.

"Covering Hillary Clinton was a funny experience because my job was to get nuggets of info from people about why they were there, where they are from, do they believe stump speeches, etc.," Molly reports. "It's a great way to learn how to talk to all different kinds of people. They're probably people I'd never talk to otherwise. It's something I'd never learn just sitting in a classroom."

Kelly Black Makes a Splash in Great Falls

2008-05-27T09:47:00.010-06:00

Kelly Black/Great Falls Tribune

Grad student Kelly Black captured the timeless reality of spring sports in Montana in this recent shot for the Great Falls Tribune. Kelly, who is working for the Trib this summer, reports that was introduced early to the fast-paced life of a small photo staff. He're what she had to say about the job in a recent e-mail to fellow students, friends and family.

"It has been fun and very crazy busy," Kelly said. "I've worked 10 and eleven hour days. Today I had a front page photo and a photo spread inside and a sports shot. It is like ... wow! But fun, and I've prayed a lot. =) And I had good professors (thanks Jeremy and Keith!). "

Got a story, photo, layout or multimedia piece you'd like to share with your fellow interns? Mail them to dennis.swibold@umontana.edu. Feel free to comment on the blog too. You'll have to register with http://www.blogger.com/ to do that, but it's easy.

Grizzly Journalists Span the Globe

2008-05-22T11:44:00.003-06:00

View Larger Map

Welcome to Grizbeat, the blog dedicated to summer photo and print interns from the University of Montana School of Journalism.

This summer's interns are ranging the globe, working for news and communications organizations from Nepal to Ecuador, from Tacoma, Wash., to Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C. More than a few chose to stay in Montana, and who can blame you for spending another summer under the Big Sky?

Over the course of the season, I'll be posting items about you and your work, reminding you of deadlines, and pointing you to resources that may help you on the job. Consider this a meeting place, and check in often.

Proud of a particular story? Let me know. Was your last photo circulated nationally or internationally? Drop me a line. Having problems? Get in touch with me quickly if I can help.

Otherwise, have a great summer, and keep in touch.

That's a Wrap

2007-08-23T14:12:00.000-06:00

Where did the summer go? With fall semester starting Monday, this my last call for final paperwork. Make certain you turn in any final paperwork in the next few days. That means I'll need supervisor evaluations and samples of your work.

It was fun seeing your work, and I look forward to seeing most of you in the shiny new Don Anderson Hall in a few days.

2007-08-18T22:30:00.000-06:00

NewWest.net photo intern Anne Medley zoomed in on the dangerous Black Cat fire, buring north of Frenchtown on the west side of Highway 93. Here's a peek at some of her outstanding work this week.

Anne wasn't the only UM intern covering the effects of this week's fires. Reporter Murphy Woodhouse had an interesting story in today's Missoulian about efforts to shelter pets and livestock evacuated from nearby fire zones.

Our Far-flung Interns

2007-08-14T21:54:00.000-06:00

Want to see where everyone interned this summer? Check out the Intern Map.

Beckerling Shoots the Bitterroots

2007-08-07T11:25:00.000-06:00

Grad student Alexia Beckerling spent part of her summer shooting photos for the Ravalli Republic, Hamilton's five-day daily and a launching pad for more than a few photojournalism careers. Her assignments have included a farm specializing in conservation practices, a class in West African dancing, and life as a foster parent. She's been on the paper's front page a few times, too.

"Doing an internship at a small paper gave me ample opportunity to publish a lot which was really gratifying," she writes. "I also got thrown in the deep-end a number of times and experienced having to get a good shot no matter what. I found this really stressful at times but think that my photography benefited from working under pressure. Spending time in the Bitterroot was an absolute pleasure. I was particularly intrigued by the diverse and oftentimes eccentric Hamilton population."

Hudetz Covers Minneapolis Distaster

2007-08-04T13:45:00.000-06:00

Professor Denny McAuliffe reports that our own Mary Hudetz was among the first reporters on the scene of this week's deadly Minneapolis bridge collapse.

"She was driving on the bridge adjacent to it when the other collapsed, stopped and started phoning in," Professor McAullife writes. "She performed like a champ. The Star Trib is keeping her on a few extra days to help with the bridge coverage."

When she gets a chance, Mary plans to write about her experience for Reznet, so stay tuned.

Mary is one of several fresh faces who have made a big impression at the Star Tribune this summer. Here's what columnist Kate Parry had to say about her and her fellow interns:

"Doom-filled predictions about newspapers have given the whole industry a bad case of jitters about the future. But something of an antidote has arrived in this newsroom: The summer interns are here. (More.)"

Sports Writers Find the Angles

2007-08-01T16:28:00.000-06:00

When her editors lobbed a routine tennis assignment her way, Tacoma News-Tribune intern Amber Kuehn slammed home a winner. The assignment was the Pacific Northwest Open at the Tacoma Lawn Tennis Club. The story was about a surprise first-time doubles team featuring Pat Galbraith, once ranked No. 1 in the world, and his nephew, Joe. That's Pat on the right in the Peter Haley's photo. "It was a front-page centerpiece," Amber wrote this week. "My editors told me it was the biggest story an intern has ever found at this annual tennis tournament."

Meanwhile, down in Portland, Ore., sports intern Patrick Gruhler is enjoying his stint as a writer for the weekly Portland Observer. He's covered subjects ranging from Portland Tailblazers No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden to the angst on the local Little League diamonds. Pat said writing a weekly column has been the summer's biggest challenge -- and the most fun.

Fire on the Mountain

2007-07-26T21:34:00.000-06:00

Daily Interlake photog Kristine Paulsen's shot of a fire near Polson, Mont., was featured today in the San Francisco Chronicle's web gallery of a "day in pictures."

"I'm not sure where else it's been published (besides the Billings Gazette)" Kristine writes, "but if you see it elsewhere, let me know. I'm curious!"

Designing on the Big Island

2007-07-24T12:43:00.000-06:00

Chelsea Jensen's internship at West Hawaii Today has included a bit of everything. In addition to reporting, she's been given a chance to design pages. So far she's done pages for the paper's Sunday, business and arts sections, among others.

Here's a recent page she put together for the paper's Home section. "Great fun," she said. "Did all the Photoshop and Indesign layering myself."

Show and Tell at Newwest.net

2007-07-20T19:54:00.000-06:00

There's more than one way to tell a story. Newwest interns Anne Medley and Jessica Mayrer teamed up on a story about 90-year-old forest conservationist Bill Potter but each reporter told the story differently. Jessica told the story in text. Anne told it in sights and sounds. Take a look. (Tip: Anne's multimedia package seems to work best in Safari or Firefox.)

If anyone else is working on novel ways to tell stories, let us know.

Hot Fun in the Flathead

2007-07-18T20:14:00.000-06:00

If grad student Kristine Paulsen has any more fun with her photo internship at Kalispell's Daily Interlake, she may never come back. For a peek at her work, including the forest fire shot to your right, click her name under "photographers" on the paper's photo site. Meanwhile, here's what she had to say about her summer:

"So the Daily Inter Lake has been working me like there's no tomorrow, but I've got to say, I'm loving it. I shoot about three to four assignments daily, depending on how busy things are, and I'm working with two wonderful photogs: Jennifer DeMonte and Karen Nichols, both U of M grads. Jenn was actually a grad student in the photo-j program."

Highlights so far?

"I got to go sailing on Flathead Lake and experience a race. I'll have a whole page of photos this coming Sunday in the Montana Life section. I photographed the first fire of the season. I was on scene at the trail of David Farr, who was accused of allegedly molesting five children at the Montessori school where he worked in Whitefish. The paper needed a story for their Outdoor section and allowed me to go climbing at Lake Koocanusa, photograph, and write the story. That'll be showing up in tomorrow's paper. ... I got to photograph the construction on Going-to-the-Sun road in East Glacier. That was pretty awesome to see those huge machines teetering on the edge of some crumbling gravel road. Oh, and to top the trip off, the reporter and I went morel hunting (very successfully!) afterwards. I'm finally going to get some sports in my portfolio! Lots and lots and lots (I could go on) of baseball. ... So, to sum things up, I am having an absolutely fantastic summer. Yay for great internships!"

Flying High in Pennsylvania's Poconos

2007-07-17T20:54:00.000-06:00

Photographer/page designer Elizabeth Rauf never knows what her copydesk shifts at the Pocono Record will bring, but the first-year grad students says she's enjoying the challenge and the people she's working with. She started on feature layouts like the one above but she's doing more local fronts these days. Her editors are letting her shoot a few photos too.

"And the area is GORGEOUS," she reports. "I know Montana is beautiful, but that's all awe and grandeur. The Poconos are more subtle and green and lush and there is water everywhere. It's my kinda landscape. The town is really quaint and I would walk to work if I didn't get off at 11 p.m."

Whiskey River, Take My Mind ...

2007-07-12T15:00:00.000-06:00

An anonymous donor (David Letterman) gave the home folks in Choteau a treat this summer: a Willie Nelson concert. Alex Sakariassen, our intrepied intern at Choteau's weekly Acantha, had the privilege of covering Willie's July 3 shindig and all the hoopla that went with it. Alex started his internship a few weeks ago with a front-page feature on a group of 12 Special Forces Airborne troopers headed for a remote base in Afghanistan. The soldiers were being trained to pack and move with horses and mules.

(Acantha photo by Don LaBaugh 7/11/07 )

Cool Assignments at the Star-Tribune

2007-07-10T19:53:00.001-06:00

Grad student Mary Hudetz is reporting this summer for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, where says she's received a string of "very cool assignments,'' including a profile of a young self-taught filmmaker from Tanzania who is working on his third Swahili-language film. She's also written about 22-year-old poet Bobby Wilson, who left South Dakota's Sisseton-Wahpeton reservation for the streets of Minneapolis -- and who's forearm tatoo reads "1492." This week Mary is working on a story about Minnestota's first rock 'n' roll camp for girls. She says she hopes to produce some longer pieces before her stay at the "Strib" is through.

Problems in Paradise

2007-07-07T16:16:00.000-06:00

As a reporter for West Hawaii Today, print senior Chelsea Anne Jensen may be farther from UM than any of this summer's interns. The paper covers the Big Island, and offers such unique features such as a "Volcano Watch" and a list of the big fish caught. But growth and development are key issues and the paper covers them agressively, as you can see in one of Chelsea's stories on the local goverment's 20-year failure to follow its own plans in developing an important recreation area.

Emu: It's What's for Dinner (and More)

2007-07-07T12:18:00.000-06:00

Summer interns tend to get lots of offbeat assignments. Missoulian interns Mary Hayes, a photographer, and Murphy Woodhouse, a reporter, made the most of their chance to cover last week's national conference of the American Emu Association. Mary's photo of would-be emu-shell artist Julie Brown accompanied Murphy's story, which detailed the emu's many uses, ranging from food to leather to hand lotion. They're gentle critters, too. “Most of my emus will come up to me and lay their heads on my chest,” a emu rancher told Murphy. “They're like big dogs.”

Presidential Politics; Health Care for Kids

2007-07-06T11:42:00.000-06:00

The 2008 presidential election may be 17 months away, but the candidates seem to be everywhere. Print senior Rachel Cook, who's reporting this summer for the Post Register in Idaho Falls, caught up with Republican hopeful Mitt Romney on his second visit to Idaho in recent weeks. She managed to get a couple of minutes with the former Massachusetts governor and his wife. She reported that the crowds were enthusiastic, but some onlookers weren't quite sold.

Meanwhile, print senior Jennifer Donohue is looking at politics from the inside. She's interning on the Democratic press team for the U.S. Senate's Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Max Baucus of Montana. Jennifer, who interned this winter with Montana's Legislature, says the federal system is a bit more complex. Her days consist of collecting and distributing daily clips, writing press releases, attending hearings and other meetings, researching and gathering information. "Right now most of my releases focus on the renewal of the State Childrens Health Insurance Program bill," she writes. "This is particularly interesting to me, because I believe strongly in the concept and I witnessed the debate over CHIP at the state level during my internship last semester."

Busy at the Beacon and the Belgrade News

2007-06-29T23:31:00.000-06:00

Montana's newest online news site and newspaper, the Flathead Beacon, is making a splash this summer with an editorial staff of mostly UM journalism grads and senior print intern Jake Grilley. So far Jake has written about Kalispell's old opera house, the area's expanding network of running trails and a rookie stock car driver's first race.

Meanwhile, print senior Karen Plant reports that she's having a blast writing features at the weekly Belgrade News. Her favorite so far is a story on Belgrade High's principal, who spends his summers working as a smokejumper.

What's News With You?

2007-06-27T12:18:00.000-06:00

With UM journalism interns all over the map this summer, let's see what they're up to.

Anne Medley, a grad student in photo-j, is spending the summer at Newwest.net, where she's producing some compelling photo essays. Here's one on the Montana High School Rodeo and another on building homes that go easy on the environment.

Also at NewWest this summer is print senior Jessica Mayrer, who's written about the Missoula City Council's decision to hold a referendum on the Iraq war. She's also reported on the city's hope to expand the Kelly Island recreation area.

Photo-j senior Eleena Fikhman, an intern at Wisconsin's Portage Daily Register, found herself covering a bizarre murder-torture case that shocked the nation. She staked out the house where police found the body and photographed the bail hearings and press conference that followed. "I was the only photographer allowed at both of these events so numerous Wisconsin papers picked up my photos along with the AP, so I found out they were running my photos all over the country," Eleena said.

At Tacoma's News-Tribune, print senior Amber Kuehn told the story of a quiet 15-year-old girl who battled lymphoblastic leukemia en route to the YMCA National Gymnastics Championships. "Some athletes devote their lives to the sports in which they compete," Amber wrote in her lede. "Megan Hamlin owes her life to gymnastics."

That's just a taste of what UM interns are up to this summer. Care to share? Drop me an e-mail with a link to work you're proud of. To comment on these offerings, pleased register with blogger.com. It's free and helps us dodge the spammers.