Alf Siewers (now Father Paul), MSJ ’82, was ordained to the priesthood in August 2023, in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. He also continues to be Associate Professor of English Literary Studies at Bucknell University in Lewisburg PA, where he lives with his family. He formerly was Urban Affairs Writer at the Chicago Sun-Times.
What is your current role and what are your main responsibilities?
I’m currently a politics breaking news reporter at The Washington Post. My main responsibility is covering all the breaking news in politics, whether it’s in the White House, Congress, or campaign events. I work with a team of four reporters, and we are constantly monitoring lawmakers and events. We also send alerts when significant events like Biden signing a bill occur.
Did you always want to go into breaking news and political reporting, or did your interests change during your time at Medill?
No, I didn’t initially plan to pursue breaking news reporting. It was something I discovered when I landed this job. I always knew I enjoyed fast-paced work, and my attention span is well-suited for breaking news. However, I didn’t anticipate becoming a political reporter. Growing up in El Salvador, I wasn’t exposed to U.S. politics beyond knowing that Obama was the president. But during my time at Medill, I participated in the Medill On the Hill program and fell in love with American politics, especially during the 2016 election. I ended up doing internships in politics in Texas and covering the city hall in New York, however, I realized that I wanted to come back to DC because of the strong Salvadoran community and the opportunities it offered.
How did you envision your career path when you started at Medill, and how did it change once you graduated?
When I first started at Medill, I thought I was going to spend four years in the U.S. and then go back to Latin America and work as a foreign correspondent for an American outlet. I already had the idea that I wouldn’t be able to stay here. But the more I learned about American politics, the more I realized that this was what I wanted to do. I realized my passions aligned with covering this topic, and every day at work felt exciting because I was so invested in what I was doing. At that point, I knew I had to do my best to stay. I took a class with Professor Whitaker, who is now the Dean of Medill, about the specific visa I’m on. I researched it, spoke to experts, and realized that it was possible for me to stay. I’m glad I had the opportunity to delve into that visa topic because it allowed me to remain in the country. My experiences at Medill changed the path I wanted to take for the rest of my life. It only took one quarter when I got the opportunity to take classes in DC for the Medill On the Hill program, where I tried something new and broadened my horizons. I don’t know if I would be here if I hadn’t gone to Medill and tried to succeed.
How did your experience at Medill shape your approach to reporting?
One professor who greatly influenced my reporting approach is Professor Peter Slevin. He taught me to look beyond the surface and consider the bigger picture when covering politics. Instead of focusing solely on the immediate news, he encouraged us to understand the underlying factors that led to a particular event. This perspective has stuck with me, even in breaking news situations, I aim to provide readers with context and let them form their own opinions. Many other professors at Medill emphasized this approach, and I’m grateful for the valuable lessons I learned. Additionally, my time at The Daily Northwestern, where I started my journalism career, taught me important skills in managing a newsroom and covering breaking news.
How has the Medill network supported you throughout your career?
My Medill network has been invaluable to me. When I applied for my first job at The Washington Post, I reached out to a friend who had been my RA during the Cherubs summer program in 2013. She is a Medill alumni and was on the team I was applying to at The Post. She provided me with insights into the job, interview tips, and helped me prepare in ways that made me become a good candidate for the position. We still talk regularly, and I’m grateful for her guidance. There are also many Northwestern alumni at The Post, and having that common bond has created a sense of community. I rely on my Medill connections for advice, support, and professional opportunities. They are like family to me.
Can you share an experience that stands out from your time at Medill?
With Medill courses, I got the opportunity to travel to France and South Africa, where we reported on immigration. At some moment, it dawned on me that we always talk about immigration as if it’s this big crisis going on in the world. As an immigrant myself, these two trips made me realize that there’s so much more context to immigration than what the media portrays. There’s so much more that we don’t take into consideration when we’re writing these articles. Being in South Africa gave me insights into the stories of these Zimbabwean immigrants trying to rebuild their lives. It made me think a lot about Central American immigrants in the United States and made me realize that at some point, I want to work in some sort of field that lets me cover immigration patterns worldwide. To get there, I have to cover a wide variety of things to understand where people are coming from and their positions, and it’s something I’m still pursuing.
From your experiences, do you have any advice you would give to someone who’s currently attending or choosing to attend Medill?
Growing up in El Salvador, when I said I wanted to go to journalism school, everyone was like, “Oh, good luck with that. There’s no job,” especially as a non-American. We’re often told that there’s no path to success. But I’ve clearly seen it happen to me and many other international students. So my advice is not to let the doubters get in your way of succeeding. There are many ways to have a successful and happy career. As an international student, you just have to put your best work forward, put in the effort, try your best, keep the connections going, talk to editors, send your resume to everyone, and sell your story and your experience. Don’t think that there’s no spot for you in American journalism because there really is. So my main message is don’t give up, but also understand that it takes a lot of work. If you already have the idea of being a journalist in America, it’s definitely doable. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.
My best advice to journalism students right now is to seize as many opportunities as you can to experiment with digital and online journalism. The traditional ways we’ve been taught are evolving, and we’re moving away from print as the main product. So it’s important to gain skills in audio journalism, TV and radio hits, and even platforms like TikTok. You might not use all of these skills, but it’s better to have them when you enter the real world and realize that newsrooms are diversifying how they deliver news.
“Can you imagine waking up every day and not knowing where someone you loved is, even if they’re dead?” Thorne asked.
Kristin Thorne, an investigative reporter for WABC-TV Eyewitness News (MSJ05), has made a name for herself in the journalism industry with her in-depth reporting on local and national issues. Kristin’s latest project, a true-crime series called “Missing”, has gained attention and critical acclaim since its debut in December 2021.
Thorne joined the Eyewitness News team in January 2012, after working as a reporter at News 12 Westchester and WHTM-TV ABC 27 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She was promoted to the 7 On Your Side Investigates team in January 2022 after serving 10 years as the station’s Long Island Correspondent.
Thorne was initially inspired to shine a light on the stories of missing people after covering the disappearance of Gabby Petito. As the lead reporter for all of ABC News on this case, Thorne put her investigative skills to work, following the investigation to Florida to cover the search. At one of the press conferences, Joe Petito, Gabby’s father, looked over at the media and said, as Thorne recounted, “You need to do a better job of covering missing people, because more people should be getting the attention as my daughter did.”
“I remember having this lightning bolt moment where I thought, he’s absolutely right,” Thorne said.
Today, Thorne creates, writes, and produces “Missing”, which investigates the disappearances of people from the New York City area. Each episode explores the story of a person who has gone missing.
As a journalist, Thorne has utilized the skills she has learned over the years, such as investigation and research, and describes herself as a detective and journalist.
“I am working as a detective for these families,” she said. “I search, investigate, knock on doors, doing anything a detective would do.”
For each case, Thorne puts together clues that lead to the missing person, and although she hasn’t found anybody yet, she believes in many of these cases, people have been killed, and she assumes that their bodies have been hidden, so she is tracking down murderers.
“That’s what I’m doing, I’m putting together clues that are going to lead me to the person who disposed of this person’s body,” Thorne said.
The alleged murderers from these cases have gotten away with their actions for many years, yet Thorne still has hope.
“Do I expect the person who killed these individuals to come forward? No, I don’t,” she said. “They’ve gotten away with it for this many years. What I’m hoping is that the people around them, after this amount of time, may have a piece of heart left in them that they can come forward and say, ‘I didn’t tell the truth back then.’”
While working on the next episodes of “Missing”, Thorne is still investigating and providing updates on past cases.
“These investigations keep going,” Thorne said. “It’s very challenging, but they’re always in my head.”
Thorne struggled to find the first case that she worked on. She called private investigators throughout New York City and ended up finding a private investigator on Long Island who got her in touch with the family of Leanne Marie Hausberg, a 14-year-old girl who went missing in 1999. She is the first episode of “Missing” and the youngest victim that Thorne has ever worked on. This family took a chance with Thorne without even knowing who she was, but because of this, the Hausberg family led her to the next cases she worked on.
“I always tell people I had no idea how easy it is to disappear,” Thorne said. “Even with cameras and phones, women have disappeared into thin air in New York City. And it’s not crazy, it happens all the time.”
Thorne’s passion for journalism began at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., where she graduated magna cum laude. She went on to earn her master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Medill. Thorne now shares her expertise with aspiring journalists as an adjunct professor at Hofstra University, teaching journalism at the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication.
“Medill formed me, it gave me the foundation that I needed to be in this line of work, and I still go back to concepts and techniques that I learned from my professors at Medill,” Thorne said.
When Thorne first got to Medill, she thought about doing production, but she was not sure if she wanted to be on air. Thorne refers back to former faculty member Anne Johnsos, who told her to try being on air, and if not, she could go back to production. After giving it a try, she decided that was exactly what she wanted to do.
“That’s why I love the series,” Thorne said. “It allows me to do everything, I’m in the series, and I produce it, so it allows me to use all those skills.”
Thorne’s dedication to her work has not gone unnoticed, as “Missing” was recently nominated for Best Local TV News Series by the New York City Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and won a New York Emmy Award in 2022 for best crime program. She has also earned an Emmy Award and numerous Emmy nominations, as well as two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards and several Folio awards, which honor the best of Long Island journalism. With her commitment to investigative reporting and compelling storytelling, Thorne has established herself as one of the most respected journalists in the industry today.
You can watch Missing on Hulu, on the ABC7 New York app on Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Google TV and at www.ABC7NY.com/missing. Missing’s third season will premiere in May.
Margaret “Ruthie” Jackson, 96, of the Lake Geneva area passed away peacefully just five days before her 97 birthday on March 14, 2023, at Geneva Lake Manor.
Margaret Ruth Jackson was born on March 19th, 1926 in Low Moor, Iowa, to the late William R and Margaret (Saltmarsh) Blake. Margaret, or Ruthie as she was known to friends and family, attended High School in Clinton, Iowa. After High School Ruthie then attended Northwestern University’s School of Journalism from which she graduated in 1947. After graduation Ruthie worked at the DM Register.
On July 31, 1948, Ruthie married Lloyd G. Jackson and lived in Iowa City while Lloyd attended Law School. While Lloyd served in Korea, Ruthie earned her Masters Degree in Journalism from the University of Iowa. Ruthie was a talented writer and raised her five children in Iowa.
Ruthie is survived by her four children: David (Lillian) Jackson, Carrie (John) Jackson, Jeff Jackson, and James (Karen) Jackson. Eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren also survive her. Ruthie was preceded in death by her husband Lloyd, her son Scott Jackson, and her only sister Hortense Blake.
Ruthie’s family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Geneva Manor Staff. Ruthie lived her last four and half years at the manor. Her days were filled with love, caring, and compassion. Many memorable walks, Uno and Bingo games were shared with the staff, residents, and her beloved son James.
Obituary
Justine was an avid sports fan, she closely followed the White Sox, college basketball, the Bulls and anything on ESPN. Most recently she volunteered at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in the gift shop and enjoyed developing relationships with patients and their families. She had a particular interest in journalism and fondly remembered her college days at Northwestern University where she met her husband. She was very grateful in her later years for the caring assistance provided by neighbors and family friends. She enjoyed the constant companionship of many cats, most recently her orange tabby Polly, who was with her when she passed away.
She is survived by her sons, Steven (Elise) Fleming of Denver, CO and Vincent (Elisabeth) Fleming of Reno, NV. Also sister Theresa (Robert) Krahl and niece Tracy (Andy) Desmedt.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Donald Kingsley Fleming.
John Czarobski was tragically struck and killed by a car Jan. 24, 2023 in Portland, Ore. Originally hailing from Chicago’s south side, John was the fifth child of Edward And Louise.
John studied journalism at Marquette University and then later received an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg school of business. He settled into a successful career in the Chicago ad industry. Notably, the latter portion of his work life was dedicated to assisting civic integration of renewable energy capabilities while minimizing consumption. John proudly played a key role in the development of “Project Footprint,” a branding campaign associated with Hawaii’s laudable efforts to go fully renewable by 2045.
John was a drummer in several rock and roll bands, an experienced sailor having navigated rocks and reefs and many a foul weather system to earn frivolity on foreign shores. He was perhaps the world’s most avid Bruce Springsteen fan having found a lifetime of wisdoms buried in the Boss’ life of accumulated works.
John leaves behind his daughter, Grace; his brother, Art and spouse, Kerry; his sister, Teresa and spouse, Denny; sisters-in-law, Annette and Maria; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. He was predeceased by his father, Edward; his mother, Louise; and his brothers, Edward and Gerald. John also leaves innumerable friends and associates that have been forever touched personally and professionally by his easy humor, his patient, soulful and nurturing optimism or his organized and steady hand as boardroom leader or mentor.
In later life John consciously eschewed the trappings of material accumulation and chose instead to invest his resources in expansive life experience via travel and adventure. His home was found with folders full of thoughts, poems and song lyrics scribbled in parallel with marketing concepts and outreach ideas. One such scribble: “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy then an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to greet a new and different sun.”
Jordan Minor (BSJ14)
Pong. The Legend of Zelda. Final Fantasy VII. Rock Band. Fortnite. Animal Crossing: New Horizons. For each of the 40 years of video game history, there is a defining game, a game that captured the zeitgeist and left a legacy for all games that followed. Through a series of entertaining, informative, and opinionated critical essays, author and tech journalist Jordan Minor investigates, in chronological order, the innovative, genre-bending, and earth-shattering games from 1977 through 2022. Minor explores development stories, critical reception, and legacy, and also looks at how gaming intersects with and eventually influences society at large while reveling in how uniquely and delightfully bizarre even the most famous games tend to be.
Illustrated throughout with retro-inspired imagery and featuring contributions from dozens of leading industry voices, including New York Times bestselling author Jason Schreier (Blood, Sweat, and Pixels; Kotaku), Max Scoville (IGN), Rebekah Valentine (IGN), Blessing Adeoye Jr. (Kinda Funny), and Devindra Hardawar (Engadget), this year-by-year anthology is a loving reflection on the world’s most popular art form.
Frank Sennett (BSJ90)
One of the first novels to explore the implications of the January 6 insurrection, and the infiltration of Oath Keepers and Proud Boys into law enforcement, SHADOW STATE finds the nation’s first Black woman president, Wyetta Johnson, a wounded veteran of the war in Afghanistan, targeted for assassination by racist terror groups.
President Johnson works with Rafe Hendrix, former head of her Secret Service detail and a Special Forces veteran she served with on active duty, to thwart the conspiracy, which features grisly re-creations of terrible events in U.S. history.
The thriller, first in a series featuring Hendrix and Johnson, will be published Feb. 21 by Crooked Lane Books and distributed by Penguin Random House. It will be available in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Advance praise: “Fans of stoic and resilient action heroes will be entertained,” Publishers Weekly says. Adrian McKinty, award-winning author of The Chain, calls SHADOW STATE
“An exciting contemporary thriller that is both psychologically astute and action packed.”
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717325/shadow-state-by-frank-sennett/
Kim Shine (MSJ13)
“On the Other Side of Everything” is about living life and controlling your own destiny. The poetry in this book ranges from love, anxiety, loss, freedom and empowerment. Inspired by personal events, each poem will entice readers to revisit and embrace their own experiences. This book encourages readers to live life in the best way — by being present, grateful and authentically you.
Mike Reilley (MSJ95)
Mike Reilley co-authored this introductory textbook and newsroom handbook that teaches data journalism techniques as a process. The book features exercises, tips, best practices and training videos on how to find data, capture it, then clean, analyze and visualize it. It features interviews and work from leading data journalists around the world. Available December 2022 at Routledge.com