McGill trades TV camera for legislative seat

Above: Amanda McGill poses with her colleagues at the news anchor desk of Lincoln’s KOLN/KGIN television station during her tenure as a broadcast reporter.

Sen. Amanda McGill hadn’t intended to run for office.

It was a late decision to enter the race for the 26th legislative district seat. So how exactly did the 27-year-old former broadcast journalist end up as a Nebraska state lawmaker?

Part of McGill’s experience at Millard North High School and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was her involvement in speech competition. Once in college, she studied broadcast journalism and political science.

“I’ve always had an interest in government, but wanted to get at it as a reporter,” she said.

Her first foray into professional broadcasting came at KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa. While working there in 2003, she was assigned to cover the Democratic presidential caucuses in Iowa. Those caucuses attracted considerable national attention and provided her the opportunity to meet several of the presidential candidates.

“It reinvigorated how much I love politics and government in the first place.”

She moved back to Lincoln, a larger television market, to accept a position at KOLN/KGIN-TV with reporting and anchoring duties. But, eventually, she wanted to get more involved.

“I found that I desired more involvement in the issues that affect people’s lives, rather than telling the stories,” she said.

So McGill left broadcasting with the idea of helping other candidates for public office. Instead, she was talked into seeking the 26th legislative district seat herself.

The rest, you know. McGill won her election in November 2006 as the youngest member of a historic class of 22 new Nebraska lawmakers, the first after the imposition of legislative term limits.

McGill’s time outside of her legislative duties is spent on widely varying interests.

She said she has begun “re-reading” books, and has a particular interest in the World War II era. She specifically noted the romanticism of that era as compared with today’s world.

“It was such a different world in the 40s from what it is now,” she said. “I really enjoy reading about it.”

McGill said it was much easier to discern between good and evil during that period in our country’s history.

“The lines are so much more blurry,” she said.

Her taste in movies might surprise some, she said. She prefers science fiction and action movies.

“I can’t wait for Spiderman 3 to come out,” she confessed.

Her community involvement includes her work with the Junior League program that helps refugees assimilate in Lincoln.

“They’re coming in with language barriers,” McGill said. “They need to know how to go about getting appropriate services.”

She said she may also pursue renewing her involvement with high school speech competition by volunteering to help at a local high school in the near future.

“It’s so important to support young people in activities that help them to be successful in the future.”