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9 News Makers LTV has what it takes to rile Eastern European politicos. FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON uttering provocative remarks surprises no one. But what does spin heads is when Lions TV breaks the news to the parties he irritates. "We heard that Clinton was coming to speak on campus, so I rushed to get press credentials for our crew," says Ellie Schuckman '18, LTV's programming director. "On May 13, a Friday, we set up our equipment in Packer Hall gym right next to the national networks, including NBC and CNN. Then we posted the whole 50-minute speech online." Midway through, Clinton criticized democracy as now practiced in Poland and Hungary. "[These] two countries, that would not be free but for the United States and the long Cold War, have now decided this democracy is too much trouble," said Clinton. "They want Putin-like leadership. Just give me an authoritarian dictatorship and keep the foreigners out. Sound familiar?" The packed crowd did not react, and not even the networks picked up on it that day. Being focused on filming, Schuckman says she wasn't even "completely listening." But the following Monday, on her way to take a final, Schuckman found out that Reuters had called, seeking LTV's footage. Carrying the station's logo, the clip started showing up on news sites, including Poland's own private version of CNN. In a hot retort to Clinton, Poland's ruling right-wing party leader Jarosław Kaczyński said, "If someone feels that there is no democracy in Poland, they should be medically examined." President Clinton was not being "100 percent accurate" in implying the two countries are no longer democracies, since the populist parties in control were both elected to power, says Cynthia Paces, a professor of history. "I was, however, very happy that he mentioned Poland and Hungary as two countries we should keep an eye on," says Paces, noting changes in control over their state media and Poland "chipping away at certain freedoms and balances of power" to gain more judicial control. "To have news agencies across the world wanting to use something we produced is really special," says LTV's Schuckman. "We were just elated to be part of some really important reporting." —Antoinette Martin FACING PAGE: LUKAS RENLUND. THIS PAGE: JON ROEMER He's the first On campus to stump for wife Hillary's campaign for the White House, Clinton is the first sitting or former U.S. president to visit the college.

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