Missouri Statehouse Reporting Program
For more than 50 years, students have been covering Missouri politics in Jefferson City. As part of the Missouri News Network, students participating in the School’s Statehouse Reporting Program not only are producing stories for the school’s professional newsrooms – NBC affiliate KOMU-TV 8, community newspaper Columbia Missourian and NPR affiliate KBIA-FM – but also filing them for use across the state through partnerships with the Missouri Press Association (MPA) and Missouri Broadcasters Association (MBA). Some students are also providing content directly to news outlets including KMOX Radio in St. Louis and Learfield Communications.
The students participating in the reporting program, referred to as the Missouri News Network, are working on it for classes, independent study and capstone projects.
Students can choose to take the preparatory Public Affairs Reporting class to learn the ins and outs of the state legislature and how to report on it in a way that not only prepares them to work in Missouri but around the country. In class, some of the things students will learn about include how bills become laws, how to track legislation and how to look at campaign finance.
Missouri News Network
The Missouri News Network encompasses the Missouri School of Journalism’s professional news organizations: KBIA-FM, KOMU-TV, The Columbia Missourian, Vox Magazine, Missouri Business Alert and coverage from the School’s Statehouse Reporting Program. Reflecting the realities of the modern newsrooms the School’s journalists-in-training are preparing to enter, students and leadership from each of these outlets work together to plan stories and put each outlet’s strengths and resources to use across platforms. The network delivers news coverage to people in Mid-Missouri and throughout the state, offering relevant and meaningful journalism that helps audiences stay engaged with their local communities.