At 50, UIS Public Affairs Reporting program still producing statehouse journalists

The dramatic slog to elect a new U.S. House speaker earlier this month was reminiscent of a situation Mike Kienzler witnessed at the Illinois Capitol 50 years ago.

As lawmakers convened in Springfield in January 1973, an effort was afoot among House Republicans to oust Speaker W. Robert Blair. After eight roll calls, Blair finally garnered enough votes for re-election. Not quite the 15 ballots we saw a few weeks ago when Kevin McCarthy fought off a mutiny from fellow Republicans to become U.S. House speaker, but still a spectacle.

“One of my earliest Statehouse memories is Champaign Republican John Hirschfeld, standing outside the mezzanine pressroom so angry at Blair that he was crying,” Kienzler said.

Kienzler, interning for the Chicago Tribune, watched this scene unfold courtesy of his place in the inaugural class of the Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) master’s degree program at Sangamon State University.

Today, 50 years since that class graduated, PAR remains a signature program at the University of Illinois Springfield. The 10-month program begins with a semester of classwork followed by an internship where students cover the Illinois legislature and other aspects of state government for a professional news outlet.

This year’s class started internships earlier this month and has already seen significant action, including the debate and signing of the assault weapons ban.

A recent survey by the University of Vermont’s Center for Community News shows PAR is among just 17 collegiate programs that place student journalists in U.S. statehouses. We’re also the oldest, launched in 1972.

More:Springfield's 'Daggerman' McCoy gained notoriety producing blades for war and celebs alike

PAR further distinguishes itself by being one of the few programs to have full-time journalists – instead of college faculty – directly manage and mentor their interns, making for an authentic on-the-job experience.

In recent years, students’ coverage has appeared in this newspaper; the Capitol News Illinois wire service; newspapers in Decatur, Bloomington and Arlington Heights; the Chicago Sun-Times; Illinois Times; NPR’s Illinois stations; WCIA-TV; and Gray Television.

Kienzler remembers his introduction to PAR. After graduating from Bradley University in 1970, he worked as a hospital orderly in Peoria before returning to his hometown of Springfield in 1972 with no solid career plan.

He heard Paul Simon – then the lieutenant governor who had just lost the Democratic primary for governor – was starting PAR at Sangamon State.

“I admired Simon and figured taking a class from him would be interesting, even though I had almost no experience in journalism,” Kienzler said. “… I also figured I’d probably drop out mid-semester, whenever I got a paying job.”

He, in fact, did not drop out, especially after learning the internship paid $100 a week.

Kienzler’s first scoop as the Tribune intern came during a routine speech by Gov. Dan Walker. Unexpectedly, Walker announced he opposed the state reimbursing for lost deposits when a Chicago savings and loan association failed a decade earlier.

“It was a big deal in Chicago,” he said. “… I was the only reporter there who realized Walker had made news. I was allowed to write briefs on my own by then, and I sent in a four-(paragraph) story. Both I and (Tribune Statehouse correspondent John) Elmer – who hadn’t been aware of my story – were surprised that evening when the Trib city desk burnt up the phone lines calling us for more details.”

A few months out of PAR, Kienzler became a reporter at the Illinois State Journal, a predecessor to the SJ-R. He worked at the SJ-R just short of 40 years, retiring as a metro editor in 2013.

PAR has had four directors in its 50 years. Simon led the first two classes before winning seats in the U.S. House and Senate. Bill Miller, a longtime broadcaster for WTAX-AM in Springfield, ran PAR from 1974 to 1993. Charlie Wheeler, a veteran Statehouse correspondent for the Sun-Times, directed for 26 years, retiring in 2019. I’ve been attempting to fill all of their big shoes since.

Like my predecessors, my objective is to equip journalists to intelligently, professionally, accurately and fairly cover government and politics.

Journalists’ jobs have become more difficult amid a politically polarized environment where facts don’t matter to some people. Still, PAR soldiers on, producing graduates dedicated to supplying communities with a precious resource – reliable news and information. Democracy can’t function without it.

Jason Piscia, a 1998 PAR graduate, has served as the program’s director since 2019. He came to UIS following a 21-year career at The State Journal-Register (where Mike Kienzler was his boss for many of those years). Piscia will host a PAR student recruitment webinar at noon on Jan. 31. Go to uis.edu/grad-week to register.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: After 50 years, UIS PAR program still producing statehouse journalists