Cyclone Power
What started as a summer internship turned into a 20-plus-year career for Andrew Batt at Iowa PBS. Now, Batt (’06) reflects on his passion for public programming and the favorite stories he’s told along the way.
You have been a senior producer on award-winning projects that cover a range of important local topics. Is there a story or topic that you are most passionate about covering?
I’ve loved telling stories. Live events are more of an adrenaline rush, whether it’s sports or a political debate — those are interesting and key to broadcasting, but I’ve loved telling in-depth stories in a documentary format. Whether that’s political history about former governors and presidential candidates or nature documentaries, anything that’s in-depth and involves storytelling is one of my favorite experiences as a professional.
Do you have a favorite documentary or series from PBS?
I’ve always been interested in politics and history, and that came together in one project I did about 10 years ago, “Caucus Iowa: Journey to the Presidency.” It ended up winning an Upper Midwest Emmy Award. To me, the value wasn’t just in the final product; it was in the journey to make the documentary. I had a chance to travel across the country and meet with former presidential candidates, people who covered those races, and key staff who ran those presidential campaigns. It was a fascinating experience to do the research, dig through archives, and then interview these historical figures.
With the ever-evolving nature of the news and media industry, why is it important to you to maintain and grow public programming?
As a public broadcaster, we serve the entire state of Iowa. When I was a journalism student 20 years ago at Iowa State, there were far more publications and people in those careers in communities in the state who told stories. There are far fewer today. The need to have stories told as a service to a community is as strong today as it was 20 years ago. So, when I look toward the future and what Iowa PBS’ role is — it’s covering the state, its history, and the stories of today in a way no one else does.