The Billings Convention and Visitors Council offers a number of services to aid and assist journalists with story development. This is accomplished by providing current information about services, recreation, points of interest and specific convention facts.

The following services are available to help achieve those goals. Additional services can be tailored to the specific needs of an individual requesting information from the Billings CVC.

Familiarization Tours
FAM trips are offered as a way to showcase Billings and the historical attractions, cultural events and other festivities this area has to offer. Itineraries are developed to fit the individual needs of the journalist. Depending on those needs, the FAM is scheduled for an appropriate length of time giving the person every opportunity to experience Billings' amenities and all things that make Billings unique.

The Billings CVC works cooperatively with Travel Montana (state tourism office) to coordinate travel and provide additional information if needed. Assistance may be available for airfare, lodging, guides, meals and transportation.

Color Slides
Over 160 slides are available to accomodate your pictorial needs. The slide library highlights the uniqueness of Billings, including history, events, attractions and convention facilities. These slides are available on loan and come with complete discriptive headlines.

Press Releases
Monthly press releases are sent out to various regional, national, and in limitied situations, international media. Topics cover a variety of activities and interests that are happening in the Billings area. These press releases serve a number of functions, such as providing a means to keep current with Billings industry trends, as well as providing brief, factual ideas from which feature stories could be developed.

Hot Sheets
Hot sheets are sent to various national media and contain a list of events and story ideas for the Billings area. Hot sheets serve a useful purpose by including brief, succinct descriptions of events as well as original ideas that may help direct story development.

Initial Research
Information that is needed for editorial can be collected specific to the needs of the journalist. The CVC serves as a resource to give ideas, tips and gather information for writers.

Internet
The Billings CVC website (which you are visiting) contains up to date information about Billings events, attractions and facilities. All past and present press releases are posted for journalists gathering information. These releases serve as a good history of happenings in the past or present. The internet also provides direct contact for questions or other inquiries. Please contact us for additional information.