University of Montana Broadcast Students Feature Montana Businesses for 13th year.

University of Montana students in the Department of Radio-Television are at work producing the 13th year of the television program, "Business: Made in Montana."

The two half-hour programs feature businesses based in Montana that create products used around the state, region, country and even the world. The show slates three-to-five minute segments for each featured business. Every year students travel across Montana during their spring semester to interview, film and produce their segments. The Greater Montana Foundation, a group devoted to encouraging communication through electronic media, pays for their travel.

The program was developed to turn around the idea that it’s hard to start a prosperous business in Montana. Through showcasing the diversified businesses that produce anything from pharmaceuticals to plastics to boots, the program aims to demonstrate Montana can support successful businesses. In its history, the show has featured nearly 100 Montana businesses. This year the two episodes will feature 11 businesses and the work of 32 students.

"There are businesses here that are hiring Montanans, paying Montana taxes and making themselves a successful global business," said Associate Professor Ray Ekness, who co-teaches the class with Assistant Professor Denise Dowling. Both also are executive producers on the show. Ekness works mainly with the photography and editing and Dowling focuses more on the content and script of the story, but the majority of the production is handled and created by the students, Ekness said.

"This is the first of our class projects that’s actually going to air on Montana PBS, so it’s really a chance for our groups to do their best work of the whole semester," said Heather Hintze, a student in the class who, along with two other group members, is featuring Montana business Goose Bay Glass.

This year students are featuring ten other Montana businesses: Montana Tamale Co., Diversified Plastics, Ligocyte Pharmaceuticals, Wild Rose Emu Ranch, Pasta Montana, Caramel Cookie Waffle, Garden City Fungi, All-American Pharmaceutical, Bowman’s Boots and Felco Industries.

"The show has been very beneficial to us and I hope beneficial for the businesses and the state," Ekness said.

"Business: Made in Montana" will air on Montana PBS with a planned debut in August.

Contact: Ray Ekness, chair, Department of Radio-Television, (406) 243-4088.

http://news.umt.edu/index.asp?sec=1&too=100&eve=8&dat=3/16/2006&npa=1118