You might not think a shy little girl from Kalispell, Montana, who used to hide behind her mother’s leg during outings, would grow up to be a television broadcaster covering an entire state… but that’s how my story began.
Hi, I’m Andrea Lutz and I’ve been telling stories as a journalist for over 17 years.
My love for reporting came when I was just a freshman in high school – tasked with finding a job to shadow for a day for a school project. I bashfully called a local news reporter. It was again my mother, who pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to call the local NBC affiliate in my hometown to learn about what goes into television news.
It’s safe to say, I was hooked.
I went on to enroll at the University of Montana School of Journalism and earn a Broadcast Journalism degree. (Because after all being a Montana Grizzly runs in my family). From there – it was a whirlwind of television reporting jobs spanned across Montana and Idaho honing my storytelling skills.
Over the years, I was fortunate enough to earn an Emmy nomination, a regional Edward R. Murrow award, several Montana Broadcaster Awards, and awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.
I guess you could say that the once shy girl came out of her shell and got comfortable hopping in front of the camera for breaking news, crime and political stories, and investigative pieces.
But perhaps my biggest shining moment was in September of 2020 when my husband Andy and I welcomed our daughter Ainsley into the world, in the middle of a global pandemic. Then, in May of 2022, we welcomed our second daughter Elowyn, to the family.
To this day, my mom, Leilani, still loves to tell people about how shy I was as a little girl. And her story always ends the same way ... with words of pride about how her daughter is now an award-winning journalist for the Montana Television Network.
We all have a story. Send me yours at Alutz@ktvq.com
