Author: Belinda Clarke

In this issue, we share photos from an event co-hosted by Medill and The New York Times in which Medill alumnus John Eligon (BSJ04) interviewed the host of “The Daily Show,” Trevor Noah.

Additional highlights include:

• Human-Centered Design: Kate Garmey (IMC06) takes technology and innovation experience to Northwestern’s San Francisco campus.
• Finding Their Tribe: Northwestern alums create a media platform with the goal of shifting the narrative about black people in Chicago.
• James L Mateja Memorial Scholarship, Fostering Journalistic Growth: This undergraduate scholarship honors automotive journalist James L. Mateja.
• Beginning the Medill Student Adventure: Wildcat Days give admitted undergraduate journalism students the chance to see what the Medill experience is like.
• Breaking Balls: Gail Shister (MSJ75) learned tough lessons about working as a female sportswriter in the 1970s and 1980s.

We profile recent graduates to learn about their Medill experience, where they’re headed and how Medill helped them get there.

Recent research by Spiegel Research Center sheds light on whether paid or owned media is more effective.

Take a look inside Pacific Standard to see how two Medill alumni are redesigning the magazine for the readers.

Global trips are now a pillar of the Medill experience for both undergraduate and graduate students.  In February and March 2017, 195 Medill students traveled domestically and to nine countries to report on such topics as the arts, sports media, the environment, social justice and youth in society.

Medill has put the “West” in Northwestern with the unveiling of new innovative space in downtown San Francisco in partnership with McCormick

Meet Younghee Lee, (MSA80) who is a marketing powerhouse at Samsung.  Medill says goodbye to Garry Marshall (BSJ56), one of the funniest men in Hollywood and a TV and movie legend.

Medill commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Washington Program. Read about the history of the program and hear from D.C. program alumni who recount how the program shaped their careers.

Medill’s sports program has expanded, bringing notable alumni back to campus as members of the faculty and opening the doors to new opportunities for MSJ students.

This issue features a guest letter from Dean Brad Hamm on Medill’s upcoming outpost in San Francisco, a spotlight on alumni working and living in Denver and the story of how a New York Times science writer found his niche.

While Susan Conroy McLeod (IMC14) was seeking out a new employee with digital experience for her company, Conroy Media, she came across a banner ad for the Medill IMC program. It gave her the idea that maybe she could fill that role herself. In the fall of 2012, she became one of the first students to sign up for the Medill IMC online master’s program.

This issue features a guest letter from Dean Brad Hamm on exciting changes coming to Medill, including the future of a San Francisco program, proposed renovations to Fisk Hall and more. Other highlights include a first person account on reporting from Cairo’s Tahrir Square while security forces clashed with protestors in 2011, a tribute to Associate Professor Emeritus Bob McClory and a look at various alumni working in Seattle.

Read these stories and more in this issue of the Medill Magazine

Remembering James Foley. Northwestern University held an emotional memorial service for murdered journalist James Foley on Nov. 20 in Evanston, and Medill honored the friend and colleague by presenting him posthumously with its prestigious 2014 Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism. Medill decided to rename the award in honor of Foley this year. In a statement, Medill Dean Brad Hamm said, “Jim endures for us as a beacon reminding us of the risks implicit in shedding light where inhumanity can take hold.” Learn more about Jim’s legacy, the James W. Foley Legacy Fund (jamesfoleyfund.org) and touching moments from the service.

Matthieu Aikins receives the 2013 James Foley Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism award, the first Medill Medal awarded after its renaming, for his essay in Rolling Stone entitled “The A-Team Killings.” Aikins was selected for his work that makes the case that a 12-man U.S. Army Special Forces team, along with an Afghan translator, committed war crimes in Wardak Province in Afghanistan.

Graduate students in Medill’s National Security Journalism Initiative followed the food when they investigated the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the world’s largest humanitarian food assistance program. They worked closely with USA TODAY to craft and present the stories through the project, funded by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Less than two hours north of Chicago, Milwaukee mirrors the Windy City on a smaller scale. Meet the five Medill alumni who call Mil-town, Wisconsin’s largest city, home.

Read these stories and more in issue 89 of the Medill Magazine.