Kevin Trevellyan reports for Yellowstone Public Radio in Billings, Montana, where he focuses on the Montana statehouse. An audio journalist interested in public policy and natural resource issues, Trevellyan didn’t understand the power of auditory storytelling—and hearing sources express themselves in their own voice—until beginning a Montana Public Radio internship last year after enrolling in the University of Montana’s environmental journalism master’s program. (He receives his degree in 2020.) Before that Trevellyan reported for the Post Register daily newspaper in Idaho Falls, Idaho, writing about everything from food baskets to radioactive waste. He learned the importance of local journalism while watching eastern Idaho’s depleted news outlets struggle to cover big issues and hold local decision-makers accountable. Trevellyan grew up in San Diego and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon with a B.S. in journalism.
Beat: Montana statehouse
Montana’s legislature meets every odd year for 90 days; very rarely, legislators will reconvene for a special session to address budget issues. During the interim between sessions, legislators meet for committee hearings to develop potential bills and oversee studies that are used to support lawmaking in the next session. This corps member works with our team of Reporters to bring daily, trend-style and analytical coverage during the session to air. This corps member lives in Helena, Montana’s capital, for the duration of the session and has office space in the Capitol building. Outside of session, the corps member is based an hour and a half north in Great Falls, Montana’s agricultural center, and covers interim legislative impacts and state agency reporting, with the remaining time devoted to regional news.