Libby graduate makes news in Spokane

Leilah Langley has come a long way without going very far. The 1998 Libby High School graduate knew what she wanted to do when she grew up at an early age, and she’s been at it for years.

When Langley was in fourth grade, living in Missoula, she got the opportunity to tour a local television news station. The visit left a lasting impression on the young girl. From that point, Langley knew she wanted to work in the news industry.

Langley has worked at KREM 2 news in Spokane since 2002. She’s now an assistant news director and has her hands in many aspects of the newsroom, helping to manage the news content on a day-to-day basis. Langley is involved in approving website material, working on news anchor scripts and stories, positioning stories in broadcasts and several other facets of news production.

“I love deadlines, the excitement of getting everything in on time for broadcast is very exciting,” said Langley. “News is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

After Langley’s mother finished school in Missoula they moved back to Libby. She started working at KLCB radio near the end of her sophomore year in high school. She was hired by Duane Williams to work as an operator. As operator, Williams gave Langley room to experiment and perform different tasks that furthered her interest in the news world. She worked at the station through her senior year in high school, gaining valuable experience.

After high school, Langley made her way back to Missoula and pursued a degree in journalism with an emphasis in broadcast. “That’s where I figured out I didn’t want to be on the air, I’m kind of shy,” said Langley. She found she was better suited for writing content and organizing story position.

Most journalism students work their way into a newsroom by providing their services free of charge through an internship; Langley’s trajectory was no different. With family members in Spokane offering a free place to live, Langley applied for a producer internship at KREM 2. “It wasn’t an internship where you sat and watched, I produced newscasts,” said Langley.

The station had an opening for a producer when she graduated in August, so Langley applied. She got the job and worked as producer for six years before progressing to her management position.

Langley recently returned to Libby to spend Christmas with her mom, stepfather and grandmother. She said she has fond memories of growing up in Libby. “I miss it a lot,” said Langley.

“There’s something about going to high school in a small town, everybody knows everybody,” she said.

As a high school cheerleader Langley was involved in most of the athletic functions, which helped shape her teenage years.

She met her now husband of 10 years while attending the University of Montana. The couple owns two beagles and he runs an online sports memorabilia site. They’ve discussed one day moving to a smaller town, but that’s in the future.

“One of the most rewarding parts for me,” said Langley of working in news, “is the storytelling part of it.” She recounted a piece her newsroom put together about a homeless Spokane boy. The boy was taken in by one of his friend’s parents, who adopted the boy into their family and treated him as one of their own. The young man went on to become a two-sports star and received a scholarship to Carroll College. It was one of those rewarding stories a news director can be proud to share.

“I also love breaking huge stories, where we’ll cover it with live coverage until the threat is resolved,” said Langley.

Langley has loads of gratitude for one person in particular for helping her get her foot in the door of the journalism industry. “I owe a lot of it to Duane Williams. He has always been very supportive and encouraging.”