Author: Belinda Clarke

Penny Abernathy, nation’s foremost researcher and expert on local news deserts, joins Medill as visiting professor

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date January 12, 2021
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Medill welcomes Penelope “Penny” Muse Abernathy as a visiting professor. Abernathy recently retired from the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media, where she served as the Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics.

“Penny is the nation’s foremost authority on the worsening crisis of local news deserts across the U.S.,” said Medill Dean Charles Whitaker. “Her research has chronicled the growing number of communities with no local news source, and it has brought attention to this critical problem and what it means in a self-governed democracy where citizens need news and information to make informed decisions. Medill is committed to providing news outlets with the tools and insights they need to thrive in their communities, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Penny.”

As a journalism professional with more than 30 years of experience as a reporter, editor and senior media business executive, Abernathy specializes in preserving quality journalism by helping news organizations succeed economically in the digital environment. Her research focuses on the implications of the digital revolution for news organizations, the information needs of communities and the emergence of news deserts in the United States.

“Penny’s arrival will help make Medill the nation’s epicenter for local news research and thought leadership at this critical time for the industry,” says Tim Franklin, Medill senior associate dean, professor and the inaugural John M. Mutz Chair in Local News—a first of its kind chair in the nation. “Penny and her research are constantly quoted by national news outlets and cited by scholars studying the challenge of local news deserts and the implications for society.”

The Medill Local News Initiative launched in 2018 to help bolster the sustainability of local news and foster new business models. Since then, the Medill Spiegel Research Center has mined local news audience data in more than 20 markets, and it’s now creating a new Subscriber Engagement Index to help local news organizations grow reader revenue. In addition, Medill’s Knight Lab has conducted field research of local news readers and non-readers to help inform experiments with new tools and approaches to improve reader engagement. Medill also is starting a new Metro Media Lab to help strengthen local news and high school journalism in Chicago.

“I’m delighted to be joining the critically important Local News Initiative and collaborating with Medill colleagues in their efforts to save local journalism,” said Abernathy. While at Medill, she plans to collaborate with the Local News Initiative and Spiegel Research Center on local news-related projects and research. She’ll deliver presentations and talks at national conferences and at the school. And, she’ll write articles for news outlets and scholarly journals that provide new knowledge on the state of local news.

Abernathy is the author of “News Deserts and Ghost Newspapers: Will Local News Survive?” — a major 2020 report that documents the state of local journalism, what is as stake for our democracy, and the possibility of reviving the local news landscape, and she is the lead co-author of “The Strategic Digital Media Entrepreneur,” which explores in-depth the emerging business models of successful media enterprises.

Her first book, “Saving Community Journalism: The Path to Profitability,” is based on five years of research, involving more than two dozen newspapers around the country. She is also author of two other major reports: “The Expanding News Deserts,” published in 2018, and “The Rise of a New Media Baron and the Emerging Threat of News Deserts,” published in 2016.

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Medill students provide ‘crucial contributions’ to The Washington Post’s pandemic coverage

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date January 12, 2021
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In March, the coronavirus was ravaging the Life Care Center of Kirkland, a nursing home in Washington state. Two-thirds of the residents and 50 staff would eventually contract the virus. Dozens would die.

The story of the Life Care Center of Kirkland signaled to a team of students at the Medill Investigative Lab (MIL) at Northwestern University just how vulnerable nursing homes would be to the spread of the virus. With residents and staff unable to socially distance and older individuals having the highest likelihood of developing severe or terminal symptoms, nursing homes would be particularly susceptible.

Having identified this looming crisis, the MIL team sprang into action working with reporters and editors at The Washington Post to develop a data source to track cases of coronavirus at nursing homes across the country. Eventually, that list grew to more than 4,000 facilities and contributed to the coverage in the Post. Medill students worked on more than 15 published stories on the topic.

“The work of student journalists from the Medill School’s investigative program has been crucial in The Post’s ongoing reporting of the pandemic’s tragic impact on nursing home residents,” said Ziva Branstetter, corporate accountability editor at The Washington Post. “These students have provided important data work and have teamed up with Post journalists to tell stories exposing patterns of inequality, waste and lax government oversight at a time when this vulnerable population most needed protection.”

Debbie Cenziper, an associate professor at Medill and the director of the Medill Investigative Lab, also is a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist who writes for The Washington Post, making the partnership between Medill students and the Post possible. All the stories were completed in the first year of the new lab, which focuses on social justice reporting.

“Like all good journalists, students in the Medill Investigative Lab pivoted quickly in March to write about the devastating impact of COVID-19,” said Cenziper. “Working with a team at The Washington Post and me, they helped tell wrenching stories of illness, loss and love. Lawmakers have called for change. This is what good investigative reporting is all about and I couldn’t be prouder of our talented, passionate and persistent team of journalists.”

“It feels very powerful to be able to do work with this kind of reach and impact,” said Joel Jacobs (MSJ20), a former software engineer who quit his job at Google to pursue investigative journalism and a journalism master’s degree at Medill. “Some of our stories ran on the front page. A few of our articles were republished by my hometown paper, which was definitely a point of personal pride. With all this, there’s also a tremendous feeling of responsibility to make sure we get things right. It can be stressful, but it’s incredibly rewarding.”

With his background in tech, Jacobs dug into federal nursing home data that helped fuel the reporting. “Often, we combined different datasets,” said Jacobs. “Combining nursing home inspection records with our list of homes with outbreaks provided the backbone for our story on the history of infection control issues in nursing homes with coronavirus cases. We also compared outbreak data with demographic data on nursing homes for a story on the disproportionate impact on majority-Black nursing homes.”

Those health disparities resonated with Sidnee King (MSJ20) who set out to tell the story of the coronavirus in a predominantly Black nursing home. She chose a home steps from the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta. Her story combined the history of the Sweet Auburn Historic District with the story of a nurse trying to care for more than 100 residents.

“When Debbie told us that we’d spend the quarter covering coronavirus in nursing homes, it wasn’t long before I got curious about how the virus was impacting Black elderly residents,” said King. “I’d seen how the virus had impacted my own family and community and knew that Black people, in general, were being disparately affected by the pandemic. So as the ongoing national conversation about racial justice grew more prevalent, I really wanted to highlight how even in nursing homes, Black Americans are disadvantaged by systemic racism.”

You can view a full list of student coverage of the pandemic in The Washington Post on the Medill Investigative Lab website.

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Medill Degrees are Now STEM Certified

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date January 12, 2021
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Medill degrees are now designated as STEM degrees based on a program review from Northwestern’s Office of the Registrar that provided updated CIP Codes. This includes Medill’s bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in journalism and its master’s of science in integrated marketing communications. "Medill Degrees Are Now STEM Certified" on la purple background showing interconnected nodes of light

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM designation provides F-1 international students with a possible 24-month employment extension of a 12-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization. Domestic students also benefit as STEM skills are sought by employers.

“Medill’s programs prepare tomorrow’s journalists and marketers, and STEM skills are essential to leading in the media industry,” said Medill Dean Charles Whitaker. “This new designation will position our graduates to demonstrate these important skills to employers who are eager to have them.”

Medill’s degrees are included under the “Digital Communications and Media/Multimedia” code (09.0702).

To learn more, visit the Northwestern Office of International Student Services.

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‘Nonvoters 2020: Counted Out’ examines reasons 80 million Americans opted out of presidential election

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date January 12, 2021
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Medill and National Public Radio have partnered to release a national survey of nonvoters Tuesday (Dec. 15) that, despite record high turnout for the November presidential election, found that most nonvoters did not cite impediments to going to the polls but instead chose not to vote due to widespread feelings of political alienation and apathy.

As the percentage of nonvoters narrowed to the smallest proportion in 120 years, the 80 million Americans who didn’t vote in 2020 had deep-seated reasons for not casting ballots.

The survey of 1,103 nonvoters and 740 voters conducted by Ipsos from Nov. 4 to Nov. 13 found that those who didn’t vote in the 2020 election are set in their belief that voting just doesn’t matter. Four out of five people polled last month said they made the choice not to vote. Only 18% said something prevented them from casting a ballot in 2020.

The majority of nonvoters — 70% — were not registered to vote in 2020, but only 29% of this year’s nonvoters surveyed said that not being registered was their main reason for skipping the election. The others cited reasons for abstaining such as a lack of interest in the election, the feeling that their vote wouldn’t make a difference or a general dislike for the candidates instead of any problems with the voting process itself.

“The 2020 nonvoters appear hardened in their beliefs and less likely than in past nonvoter surveys we’ve conducted to be lured to the voting booth in the future,” said William F. Thomas Professor of Journalism Ellen Shearer, who also is bureau chief for Medill’s Washington Program. Graduate students in the Washington Program, under the direction of Shearer and Assistant Professor Matthew Orr, worked with NPR and Ipsos to develop the survey questionnaire.

The Medill students used the survey results to delve deeper into the nonvoting phenomenon by interviewing some of the nonvoters surveyed, as well as experts and activists to give voice to people often ignored by campaigns and candidates. Their stories can be found at www.nonvoters2020.com. The NPR story also featured Medill stories within.

“It’s really remarkable that despite record turnout, 80 million people still didn’t vote, and they are disaffected and disengaged,” said Domenico Montanaro, senior political editor and correspondent for NPR. “There is a clear disconnect between what happens in Washington and what happens in these Americans’ lives. They don’t see how politics makes a difference.”

Nonvoters in 2020 were twice as likely as voters to believe that it makes no difference who is elected president, and about three times as likely to think that “I’m only one person, so my vote doesn’t make a difference.”

Over half of nonvoters said they believed that who was elected president made no difference — more than double the number of voters who said the same. This is a much larger opinion gap than the one that existed between voters and nonvoters in 2012, hinting at a deeper level of apathy among 2020’s nonvoters.

The survey showed that nonvoters tend to associate with other nonvoters, while voters socialize with other voters. Less than one-third of nonvoters said that most of their friends or family voted in the 2020 election compared with over 80% of voters.

In addition to their stories, the Medill students also designed the website and created a podcast, videos and graphics.

“We felt it was important to have conversations with some nonvoters and learn more about why they didn’t vote,” said Orr. “In doing so, the students have put together a compelling package of multimedia stories.”

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Medill alum goes from journalist to entrepreneur with a set of cookware

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date January 21, 2020
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By: Kaitlyn Thompson (BSJ11, IMC17)

In 2018, Medill alumna Sierra Tishgart (BSJ12) left her dream job as a food writer and editor at New York Magazine for – cookware.

About a year ago, Tishgart had what she thought was a simple desire to become a more confident cook. She knew in order to motivate herself to cook more, she first had to replace her chipping set of pots and pans. Her instincts as a trained journalist led her to research first. A few Google searches later, she found herself quickly overwhelmed by the many cookware options available. From the type of material, to number of pieces, to the colors, Tishgart learned the possibilities for cookware were endless. In addition, most of the options she found were unnecessarily cost-prohibitive, too complicated to use or downright ugly.

Tishgart couldn’t accept the fact that finding the perfect cookware had to be so complicated. So, she took the matter into her own hands. Tishgart invited her friend (and co-founder) Maddy Moelis to help create a better cookware solution, one that was custom-built down to every last detail. They named it Great Jones, a line of beautiful yet practical pots and pans intended to help people, “feel equipped and empowered to cook more frequently.”

Over the course nine months, Tishgart and Moelis worked to bring Great Jones to life. In November 2018, they launched Great Jones online with a five-piece cookware set – the basic pieces Tishgart believes every cook needs in order to cook successfully at home. Since launch, the entrepreneurs have been celebrated by Forbes (named to their “30 Under 30” list) and others for modernizing the cookware shopping experience from start-to finish.

Kaitlyn Thompson (BSJ11, IMC17) recently spoke with the co-founder and Medill alumna about what it was like to go from magazine journalist to accidental entrepreneur. This is what Tishgart had to say about the adventure, condensed from an interview and in her own words.

Thompson: I think it’s fair to say you’ve been on quite a journey over the past year. If you could sum up creating Great Jones cookware, how would you describe it?

Tishgart: Our primary goal in creating our own line of cookware was to make people feel more confident cooking at home. For me, many things make me feel insecure when I try to cook at home. I’ve struggled with not knowing what pan to use, how to prepare the dish, or even just trying to get the perfect Instagram shot of my food. None of it left me feeling very confident in the kitchen. The irony is before I even tried to start cooking more, I couldn’t even find good tools to start – the right pots and pans. I knew if I didn’t feel confident in the kitchen, I was probably not alone.

Thompson: In the article you wrote in March 2019 for Bon Appétit, you talk about what it was like to quit your job and build a business (later to be called Great Jones) but to have to keep the business a secret. Now, the secret’s out! What’s it like to see people talking about your company?

Tishgart: It’s simply wild. It still feels a bit surreal to see Great Jones living and breathing. One year ago, no one held our products in their hands. Now, people are using the cookware, and it’s so fun to see the many ways they make the products work for them. For example, I love to see people use our cookware as bakeware. All of our pots and pans can go in the oven, so it’s fun to watch others make them multi-use.

Thompson: Early on, you decided to bring on a business partner – your friend Maddy Moelis. What made you decide you wanted a co-founder to help launch Great Jones?

Tishgart: I knew I had certain skills that Great Jones would need, like my journalism background and my relationships with chefs and other food editors, but I also knew I had some gaps. I brought Maddy on board because I knew she could fill those gaps, having learned lessons from working at Warby Parker and Zola in particular. As co-founders, we’ve put a lot of work into learning what we thrive at, what we do best independently, and what we do well together to make ourselves the best business leaders. Our company is changing rapidly. Our first hire was someone to run our social media accounts, but since then, we’ve brought on operations, customer experience, experiential marketing, data analytics. It’s been a great ride to see the growth and change with Maddy by my side.

Thompson: What do you think your time at Medill and Northwestern did to prepare you to start your own company?

Tishgart: I believe journalists make for great entrepreneurs. At its core, being an entrepreneur is about approaching strangers and pitching ideas. One of the first skills any journalist learns is how to ask total strangers for time, advice and help. Medill pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to sell myself and my ideas. I also think Medill instilled in me an ability to do really thorough research, something I use daily in my work on Great Jones.

Thompson: What was the most surprising thing you learned about yourself in the process of launching your own business?

Tishgart: I’ve learned the extent of my work ethic. Creating and running a company is so much work. I’ve also learned how rewarding it is to have the opportunity to not just create a set of products, but a strong workplace culture where people can feel supported. We have a team of all women right now, and I love that Great Jones is a safe workplace where everyone can grow and thrive. Finally, I have actually become a better cook! Perhaps more important than just improving my skills, I cook more. Our cookware has opened up the door to do exactly what I had always hoped: to make cooking a part of my everyday routine.

Thompson: As we close our time together, what advice would you give to Medill alums looking to start their own businesses?

Tishgart: I would encourage any potential entrepreneur, whether they are connected to Medill or not, to ask themselves why they are the right person to start the business or tell the story. I believe every entrepreneur needs to have a very compelling answer to that question. Ideas are everywhere, but what positioned Maddy and me for success with Great Jones was that we really made sense for this project. I spent five years immersed in the food world, and Maddy had a deep knowledge of the startup space, plus she knew cookware. When you know the answer is that you are the best person to bring that company or idea to life, then there’s one thing left to do. Go for it!

Tishgart and her business partner Moelis both reside in New York City. For more on Great Jones’ line of modern and accessible cookware, click here.

Kaitlyn Thompson is a marketing strategist, passionate storyteller, global citizen, green tea connoisseur and chili cook-off champion always asking “why.”

Cover photo: from left: Sierra Tishgart and Maddy Moelis

1990s Class Notes

Jennifer Mathieu Blessington (BSJ98)

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date January 17, 2020
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Jennifer Mathieu Blessington writing under the name Jennifer Mathieu, recently visited the set of the MOXIE movie, directed for Netflix by Amy Poehler. The movie is based on Mathieu’s 2017 young adult novel of the same name, published by Roaring Brook Press. Moxie is the fourth of Mathieu’s five young adult novels. Her most recent book, The Liars of Mariposa Island, published in September 2019. Mathieu lives in Houston with her husband and son and continues to work as a high school English teacher in addition to writing novels. The film’s release date is not yet known. Photo: Blessington with Amy Poehler.

1970s Class Notes

Stuart Gibson (BSJ73)

Stuart Gibson has joined the Dutch tax education and research research foundation, IBFD (International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation) as Chief Editor, US. After retiring from the Tax Division of the US Department of Justice in 2013 (and before joining IBFD), Stuart had worked as Director, International Tax, at Bloomberg Tax & Accounting, Counsel in the Washington, DC office of Schiff Hardin LLP, and Editor of Tax Notes International, at Tax Analysts.

1990s Class Notes

Steven Friess (BSJ94)

Steven Friess and his husband, Miles Smith, welcomed a son, Nevada Ebbess Friess, born Oct. 18, 2019. Friess is a freelance journalist based in Ann Arbor, Mich.

1980s Class Notes

Judy Fahys (MSJ87)

Judy Fahys is the first Mountain West reporter for the Pulitzer prize-winning nonprofit InsideClimate News after a daily news career at the Salt Lake Tribune and NPR Utah/KUER. Not only does she write about climate change, energy and the environment throughout the region, she’s also helping to build ICN’s growing National Environment Reporting Network.

2000s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Todd Johnson (BSJ08, MSJ09)

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date January 17, 2020
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Todd Johnson has been hired as Chief Content Officer of The Grio, a leading news and entertainment site dedicated to providing African-American audiences with compelling stories and perspectives. Johnson first joined theGrio.com shortly after it launched in August, 2009, as a video journalist and reporter. Johnson was eventually promoted to Managing Editor, helping guide the news site through multiple transitions before it was acquired by Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios in 2016. Prior to his return to The Grio as Chief Content Officer, Johnson served as Editorial Director of NBCBLK, a division of NBC News Digital. Johnson will be responsible for elevating The Grio’s voice and branding, its overall editorial strategy and growing its audience.

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