I did an interview with reporter Mike Miletich for the Illinois News Broadcasters Association podcast. I'm putting the transcript here because many people don't know what reporters do, and Mike gets into details about covering politics in Springfield, Illinois.
How has your job changed since we last talked?
I’ve spent the past three and a half years at WAND-TV, which is based in Decatur, and I’m still doing the same job as a state Capitol reporter, just with a different station. Previously, I was reporting for multiple stations under one ownership, so I was producing content for several different markets.
One of the things that has made my life much easier is being able to focus on one station. Instead of reporting for five to seven stations and talking to lawmakers in all of those individual markets, I can focus on the people who matter most to our viewers while still reaching people elsewhere in Illinois who follow my work. Producing content for one station is also much easier than what I was doing before.
What was it like producing content for so many different stations?
The actual process of getting into work was basically the same, but I had a communication channel with the assignment managers or assistant news directors at the different stations. I’d tell them what the game plan was for the day, what hearings I was covering and, depending on the time of year, what votes were expected on the House or Senate floor. I’d also let them know when I expected to have content available.
The difficult part is that political reporting doesn’t have a normal schedule. Your day depends on what lawmakers do. There are plenty of times when votes don’t happen until later in the afternoon, and during the end of session there can be very late nights.
How do you manage that unpredictable schedule?
After doing this full time since 2020, I’ve gotten pretty good at having a game plan. During the earlier part of the session, I can plan around morning committee hearings and try to have material ready for the afternoon and evening newscasts. As the session gets closer to the end, there are more votes and more late-breaking developments, so the schedule becomes much more unpredictable.
If I can get several stories turned around before lawmakers even hit the floor, I’m feeling great. Later in the day, I have more flexibility because lawmakers aren’t necessarily on the floor for very long. Toward the end of the session, though, you’re often trying to get content together right up until the evening shows.
How long are your stories?
It depends on the story. A longer piece from the Capitol is usually around a minute and 20 seconds to a minute and 50 seconds. Some state government issues require that additional time because there are a lot of details that need to be explained.
During a session, I may also decide that instead of doing one television package on a single topic, I’m going to provide several shorter stories. I try to get six to eight stories out on a typical day, and that includes web content in addition to what goes on television.
How important has digital journalism become to the job?
It’s extremely important because many viewers aren’t watching television the way they used to. They’re getting their news digitally, through websites, apps and social media. We’re seeing more younger people going directly to news apps, particularly people from post-college age into their 30s.
If we’re sending someone a breaking-news notification and they check the app, that’s an opportunity to reach them where they already are. Social media can also push people toward the website. I think digital and social media have really changed the way people consume news, and if we’re not meeting people where they are, what’s the point of doing our job?
How has your experience as a producer influenced your work as a reporter?
The biggest thing is communication with producers throughout the day. When I was starting out, there were times when reporters were out in the field and you wouldn’t get a response very quickly. Then you might find out that a story wasn’t going to come together or that you needed to change your story at the last minute.
I produced an hour-long show at one point, so I understand what producers need. I try to communicate throughout the day and put my entire Capitol plan into Slack so that producers, reporters and management can see what’s happening. I’ll also tell them when something is subject to change, because under the Capitol Dome, things frequently change.
How do you prepare for everything happening at the Capitol?
Experience helps a lot, but so does being physically present. I tell people who are new to the Capitol that you really can’t function as a political reporter if you aren’t physically in the room for committee hearings or meeting people one-on-one. You can function, but you’re not going at the speed you need to go.
One of the things I do every day is get the House and Senate calendars and go through the bills that are scheduled. I mark the ones I need to follow and compare the current calendar with the previous day’s calendar. That gives me a way to keep track of what’s changing.
That’s particularly important because legislation can change dramatically during the process. A bill that starts out as one proposal can eventually become something completely different. Leadership can decide to hold something and put another proposal into the legislation to move it through the process more quickly. If you aren’t following that bill from January through the end of session, you may not realize what changed until the last minute.
How important is note-taking to your reporting?
I always have a notebook with me, and I take a lot of notes. Even when I’m operating a camera in a committee, I’m also taking notes. Those notes can be a time code for a sound bite I want to use, a point I want to emphasize in a story or something someone said that I want to follow up on.
A lot of it comes down to making sure I have enough information to explain something accurately. I don’t want to think of it as dumbing something down for the viewer. I want to put complicated government issues into common terms that people can understand.
How do you make complicated legislation understandable to viewers?
You have to think about how the issue affects people in their everyday lives. Some of the biggest stories I’ve worked on involve things like affordability, junk fees or grocery store coupons because people immediately understand the problem.
For example, when you’re paying for a hotel, an airline ticket or a meal at a restaurant, you may see additional fees added at the end. That’s something people can relate to immediately. The challenge for a reporter is to explain what the legislation does and why it matters without requiring the viewer to understand all of the legislative terminology.
The same thing happened with legislation involving grocery store coupons. That became a popular story because it was something people could directly relate to. Those are the kinds of stories where you can take a complicated legislative process and connect it to people’s everyday lives.
How important is it to be physically present at the Capitol?
It’s incredibly important. Being there means you’re close to the action, but it also means people know you. You develop relationships with lawmakers, staff members and other people involved in the legislative process.
When a vote is put on the board, for example, the person in the chair may simply read the bill number. If you don’t know what that bill is connected to, you may not realize that it’s something you need to pay attention to. Being there every day and following the legislation makes it much easier to recognize what’s important.
How do you keep track of all the people and relationships involved in a story?
A lot of it comes from simply being present. If I’m walking through the Capitol and see someone, I’ll stop and talk to them, whether it’s an on-camera conversation or something off camera. Over time, people recognize you and know your work.
You also have to know who the sponsors of important bills are. If a sponsor isn’t on the floor, that can tell you something about whether a bill is likely to be called. For major legislation, I’ll sometimes contact people and ask whether they expect to run the bill that day or whether it’s more likely to happen later.
There are also a lot of people behind the scenes. Communication staff, legal staff, state agencies and other organizations can be important sources of information. Those relationships are critical to understanding what’s happening before something becomes public.
How do you maintain relationships while covering people on different sides of an issue?
You have to maintain relationships across the political spectrum. You don’t want to burn bridges. That doesn’t mean you aren’t going to ask difficult questions. It means that you’re trying to maintain professional relationships so that you can continue to get information and responses from people on all sides.
Advocates are also important because they provide the human element of a story. A lawmaker can explain what a bill does, but the question for the viewer is often, “What does this mean for me?” Talking to people who are directly affected can help answer that.
Do you consider yourself a political commentator?
No. I’m very different from people who host political opinion shows. We’re not doing the same thing. We’re there to break down bills so that people understand them as they move through the process.
When something becomes law, that becomes even more important. Viewers need to understand how the law could affect them, their families, their jobs or their communities. My responsibility is to tell the news straight and explain what’s happening so people can decide how they feel about it.
What is it like covering the legislature from the press area?
Television reporters have designated positions in the balcony, where we can see the chamber. I’m able to see the lawmakers and the overall activity on the floor, and we also have access to an additional video feed that can provide another angle when necessary.
Being in the room matters. You’re close to the action and able to see what’s happening as it happens. For a reporter, there’s a real value in being there rather than relying entirely on information after the fact.
How do you handle breaking news while you’re covering the Capitol?
If the Capitol is having a slower day and there’s breaking news elsewhere in Springfield, I can help the rest of the newsroom because I’m physically here.
Breaking news is usually a team effort. You divide up the responsibilities. One person may handle the live component, another works on the television story, someone else handles a deeper explanation, and other people reach out to the people involved for responses.
The key is to get the facts, get the information you need and tell the story accurately. You also have to be willing to work as a team rather than trying to do everything yourself.
What has changed about covering state government in recent years?
One major change is the connection between state and federal government. There really isn’t a story that’s purely Illinois-focused anymore. Decisions made by the federal government can have a significant effect on what happens in Illinois.
That means reporters covering state government have to understand those connections and explain them to viewers. At the same time, state government continues to have a direct impact on issues such as the budget, state agencies, insurance and other things that affect people’s everyday lives.
Why is local and state political reporting still important?
State government decisions eventually affect other levels of government and people’s communities. People should also be paying attention to city councils, county boards and school boards because decisions made at the state level can affect all of them.
Not everyone is going to follow government every day. Some people may only pay attention around an election. The job of a political reporter is to explain what’s happening clearly enough that people can understand what changes are being made and then decide how they feel about them.
What advice would you give to people starting out in television news?
Always strive to do your best work, even when you’re dealing with an uphill battle. Every newsroom has a different environment, and sometimes people leave the industry because of where they are working, the culture, the location or the type of reporting they’re doing.
I would also encourage people to learn as many parts of the job as possible. My experience as a producer taught me a lot about writing and newsroom operations, and those skills have helped me as a reporter.
You should also be willing to ask for opportunities and help the people around you. The skills you learn early in your career stay with you, and eventually you have the opportunity to pass those skills along to the next generation of reporters.
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