The Real Deal at The Durango Herald

By Dean’s Intern Andrew Eversden at The Durango Herald

My very first day covering the Colorado Congressional delegation for The Durango Herald was the day of President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address. I faced an 11 p.m. deadline for the print edition  and my editors had asked for 400 words on the infrastructure portion of the speech. The president then proceeded to give the third-longest State of the Union speech in 50 years, sending me scrambling to meet my deadline. Fortunately, I had prepared a diligent pre-write and I filed my story minutes before my deadline, right as Congressman Scott Tipton called me 30 minutes early for a scheduled interview.

In my three weeks with The Durango Herald, I have already covered a State of the Union, the immigration debate and health care policy affecting hospitals in rural Colorado. Since I am the only reporter from the paper in Washington, and only one of just two reporters from a Colorado-based newspaper, I have great access to the senators and Rep. Tipton. I also have a lot of freedom in deciding what to cover, which comes with high responsibility since I cover a local area and have to monitor issues out there.

The opportunity to meet with congressional staffers and professional reporters has also been a beneficial networking experience. Other reporters have taught me a lot about the reporting process and I have learned a lot about the dynamics of the relationship between the press and political staffs. The truth is that this internship is the real deal, reporting about the issues on Capitol Hill during the tumultuous Trump presidency.

Here’s a link to my latest article.