Travel Montana designed the site keeping the needs of the writer in mind, so there aren’t huge feature articles filled with fluff. Instead, the site offers journalists short “digests” of key information and details they can use to give their stories more life. That includes unique and interesting nuggets of information such as:

• The two bird species named after the expedition’s leaders
(See lewisandclark.montanainfo.org/names.htm)
• What Meriwether Lewis described as “the grandest sight I ever beheld”
(See lewisandclark.montanainfo.org/bigsky.htm)
• The name of the expedition’s hairiest member
(See lewisandclark.montanainfo.org/seaman.htm).

These details and others are what prompted Travel Montana to build the online site offering anecdotes and facts to help “flesh out” stories; after all, this is an informational kit aimed at journalists, not a promotional kit aimed at consumers.

Writers visiting http://lewisandclark.montanainfo.org can click on major sections offering details such as an expedition background, biographies of the major characters, the expedition’s route (with journal excerpts), the legacy of Lewis & Clark, Bicentennial events, and regularly-updated news items. The site also includes print-quality photographs free for media use, story leads, reviews of Lewis and Clark books useful to journalists, and links to other online Lewis and Clark resources.

The launch of the site was timed to coincide with the launch of the official nationwide observance of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial, happening from 2003-2006.

For more information on Montana’s Online Lewis & Clark Press Kit, contact:
Travel Montana
301 South Park Avenue • PO Box 200533 • Helena, MT 59620-0533
406-841-2870 • 800-548-3390 ext. 2 • TDD: 406-841-2702 • FAX: 406-841-2871
Web: lewisandclark.montanainfo.org