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Award from Medill, NAHJ recognizes outstanding reporting on Hispanic and Latinx communities

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date August 21, 2023
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Daniel Alarcón is the recipient of the 2023 Cecilia Vaisman Award from Medill and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Alarcón is the executive producer of Radio Ambulante Studios, where he oversees a team of more than 30 producers, editors, reporters, fact-checkers and sound designers living across Latin America, as they produce two podcasts, Radio Ambulante and El hilo. There are more than 200 episodes of Radio Ambulante produced in more than 20 countries. Alarcón also writes about Latin America for The New Yorker and teaches at the Columbia Journalism School.

The Vaisman award honors an individual working in audio or video journalism who works every day to shed light on the various issues affecting Hispanic and Latinx communities inside and outside the United States and is an active member of the NAHJ. It is given jointly by NAJH and Medill and includes a $5,000 cash prize. The award is named for Medill faculty member Cecilia Vaisman who died in 2015.

“Daniel Alarcón has been at the forefront of groundbreaking storytelling for the Latinx community,” said Medill Dean Charles Whitaker. “He helped bring long-form narrative radio journalism to Latin America with the start of his Spanish language podcast, Radio Ambulante. I am honored to present him with the 2023 Cecilia Vaisman Award.”

Alarcón’s nomination was reviewed and selected by a jury of Medill and NAHJ representatives, including members of the NAHJ Chicago chapter. The award criteria was determined by the jury.

“I had the honor of meeting Cecilia, and in addition to being a wonderful journalist, she was kind and generous and committed to passing on her knowledge to others,” said Alarcón. “She was a great friend to Radio Ambulante in our early years, and to be recognized with an award given in her memory is a great honor.”

Alarcón’s journalism has covered a variety of topics, including the rise of the new nationalist left, the book piracy industry, and the emerging democracy inside Lurigancho, Lima’s most notorious prison. His work has been published in a variety of outlets, including The New Yorker, Harper’s, New York Times Magazine, Wired, Granta, McSweeney’s and The Believer. Alarcón has been published in the New Yorker for the past 20 years.

“I am thrilled to congratulate Daniel Alarcón on his well-deserved Cecilia Vaisman Award,” said NAHJ National President Yvette Cabrera. “Daniel is a brilliant writer and storyteller, and his work has had a profound impact on the way we understand Latin America. His ability to understand his audiences is truly a gift. I am grateful for his contributions to journalism, and I look forward to reading his work for many years to come. Congratulations Daniel!”

Alarcón has won several awards in journalism, including the 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, 2022 Maria Moors Cabot Award, and the 2022 Cabot Prize for Latin American Journalism.

Alarcón’s work will be highlighted during an award ceremony hosted by Medill on Monday, October 3, 5:30-6:30 CT, in partnership with NAHJ

Hank DeZutter (MSJ65)

He had the street-smarts of a newsman, the whimsey of a jazz-loving poet, and a reformer’s distaste for all things unjust. Hank DeZutter, 80, died July 14, 2023, of a brain bleed after a fall days earlier in the Lincoln Park apartment he shared with wife Barbara. Hank covered protests and political unrest during the late 60s for the Chicago Daily News, winning awards including one for exposing FBI spying on activists at the U. of Illinois.

He helped launch the Chicago Journalism Review in response to the overly pro-police slant editors gave to violence during the ’68 Democratic Convention. Hank went on to teach writing and journalism at city colleges and Columbia in the South Loop. There he helped found Community Media Workshop, a program to help neighborhood groups get better press. Meantime, he wrote for the Chicago Reader on neighborhood issues, including a 1995 front-pager on a then-unknown Barack Obama. In spare time, he wrote books, spun poetry for the Chicago Journal, played boogie piano, and made impossibly long golf putts.

Surviving are wife Barbara Belletini Fields; her daughters Jayne Mattson and Ana Boyer Davis; sons Max (Sarah), Chris, and daughter Amanda Kotlyar (Simon); stepson Agward “Eddie” Turner; sisters Joyce (Ronnie) Mooneyham and Wendy (Steve) Callahan; and five grandchildren. Predeceased by mother Evelyn (née Dammer) and father Henri DeZutter. Gifts to Courage to Fight Gun Violence, Box 51196, Wash., DC 20091, or https://giffords.org/lawcenter/gun-laws/

Featured image courtesy of Block Club Chicago.

Block Club Chicago article about the legacy of Hank DeZutter.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/henry-dezutter-obituary?id=35954608

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Deborah H. Quirk (MSJ74)

Deborah “Deb” Hardin Quirk passed away at her home in Hastings, Nebraska, on June 19, 2023. She was 72.

Deb was born in Hastings on July 30, 1950, to Bob and Marge Hardin. She graduated from Hastings High School in 1968. While in high school, she hosted her own radio show on KHAS Radio and was the youngest person in Hastings to earn a radio engineers license. She also worked in the announcer’s booth for American Legion Baseball games at Duncan Field.

Deb went on to the University of Denver where she earned Phi Beta Kappa honors and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications in 1972. She then earned a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Medill. While at DU, she reactivated the Kappa Delta Sorority chapter and later served as an alumni advisor to the chapter at Northwestern.

Deb returned to Hastings in 1973 to serve as the Development Director for Central Community College in Hastings and later as the Communications Director for the Central Community College system in Grand Island.

She was passionate about serving the community. She served two terms on the Adams Central School Board and took pride in her work as the chair of the building committee during the planning and construction of the new gymnasium in the early 2000s. She also served on the Hastings Planning Commission. She was a long-time member of Business and Professional Women, and served a term as the statewide President. She was also a member of the Fortnightly Study Group and the Torch Club.

Linked to her dedication to public service was her lifelong engagement with politics. In 1976, Deb was working on a local city council campaign when her oldest sister, Penny, suggested she seek advice from John Quirk, who was volunteering on Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign. She did. Their candidates both won election, and they both remained involved in politics throughout their lives, with Deb serving as State Chair of the Democratic Party in the mid-1990s. Just two days before she passed, Deb attended one final meeting of local Democrats in Hastings.

More importantly, politics brought Deb and John together for a lifelong partnership. They were engaged July 7, 1977, (7/7/77) and married on New Year’s Eve that year. Their son, Andrew Robert “Rob,” was born in 1985. For more than 40 years, Deb worked alongside John at Quirk Land & Cattle Co., first maintaining the cattle records and ultimately as the office manager.

Deb was an avid golfer. She served on the Lochland Country Club board and was a leader in the women’s golf association where she served as a tireless advocate for women’s golf. Deb was a dedicated fan of all sports — particularly football and any women’s sport. On Saturdays and Sundays throughout the fall, she could always be found watching a game, especially the Huskers on Saturday and the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Survivors include her son Andrew Robert “Rob” Quirk of Brooklyn, New York; her sister, Su (Hardin) Ryden, and her husband, Jerome Ryden, of Aurora, Colorado; a brother, Mike Hardin, and his wife, Margaret Hardin, of Aurora, Colorado; a sister-in-law, Mary Quirk, and her husband, Jim Anderson, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Penny Hardin; and her husband, John Quirk.

https://theindependent.com/news/local/obituaries/deborah-deb-hardin-quirk/article_5f1f3065-f9f5-5341-99ce-2b09b3fcbda9.html

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Mariana Alfaro (BSJ18, MSJ18): Politics Breaking News Reporter at The Washington Post

Post author By Rafaela Jinich
Post date May 24, 2023
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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.

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Medill alumna to serve as inaugural George R.R. Martin Chair in Storytelling

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date May 23, 2023
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Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, BSJ97, will serve as the inaugural holder of the George R.R. Martin Chair in Storytelling at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University.

Tan, a journalist, author and teacher, will lead the George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop, as well as teach courses across a breadth of genres to both undergraduate and graduate students.

The George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop will provide support for journalism professionals seeking careers in creative writing. Launching in 2024, the workshop will enroll six to eight writers and authors each summer and afford budding fiction writers, screenwriters and playwrights the time, space and guidance to develop their projects.

“Journalists have always been compelling storytellers, and many have a wealth of stories and ideas that would make for rich novels, films, TV shows and plays,” said Tan, whose book career launched when she turned an essay she wrote for The Wall Street Journal into the 2011 memoir, “A Tiger in the Kitchen.” “I am thrilled to be leading this unique program that will help journalists make that leap from news narratives to creative writing.”

Martin, BSJ70, MSJ71, is the author of the acclaimed “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels and co-executive producer of the Emmy award-winning “Game of Thrones” series. His $5 million gift to Medill established both the endowed professorship and the workshop.

“Storytelling is at the foundation of our school, and Cheryl’s expertise in telling her own stories and helping others tell their stories will allow Medill to build on its tradition of excellence in this area,” said Medill Dean Charles Whitaker. “We are grateful to George R.R. Martin for his generous gift, and delighted to welcome Cheryl back to Medill.”

In addition to teaching and leading the summer workshop, Tan will collaborate with faculty in the School of Communication and Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences to convene panels and conferences on writing for students, the greater Northwestern community and the public and be a liaison to industries related to long-form narrative and storytelling.

After graduating from Medill, Tan began her career at The Baltimore Sun as a metro news reporter, then a fashion, arts and entertainment writer. She followed this with positions in fashion writing at InStyle and The Wall Street Journal.

She is the author of two internationally recognized books and has served as an editor and contributor to two anthologies. Her essays, features, reviews and news stories have been published in major news outlets and magazines throughout the world.

Tan also has participated in nearly a dozen writing fellowships and has taught at universities and workshops.

“Medill taught me so much about writing,” Tan said. “I look forward to coming home and helping journalists build a new library of books and shows incubated right here at Northwestern.”

Tan will join the Medill faculty in September.

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Media Strategy Executive Will Lead Medill Local News Accelerator

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date May 23, 2023
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Mackenzie Warren, a top news executive at the nation’s largest local news publishing company, has been named director of the new Local News Accelerator at Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.

Warren has been a senior member of Gannett’s news executive team for more than a decade. In his two most recent posts, he focused on news strategy and career-development for journalists. He will bring those leadership experiences to Medill’s downtown Chicago campus, where he will be based beginning later this winter.

From there, he will lead Medill’s unique Local News Accelerator, a project designed to help strengthen the sustainability of local news in Chicago by working directly with area news outlets on business strategies, audience development, consumer research, and leadership coaching.

“Mackenzie is ideally suited to lead this exciting new venture to improve local news in Chicago,” Medill Dean Charles Whitaker said. “As a long-time executive at Gannett, Mackenzie has spent years working with local news leaders across the country on strategies for audience engagement and digital storytelling. He understands the opportunities and challenges in local news as well as anyone, and he’ll bring that expertise to the Accelerator and our news partners. He’ll also be returning to Medill, where he earned his bachelor’s degree, and Illinois, where he launched his career as an online editor in Rockford.”

Tim Franklin, the senior associate dean and John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, said Warren’s hiring is another indication of Medill’s commitment to helping transform a local news industry that is grappling with new models in the digital age.

“Mackenzie is someone who will have an immediate impact on the Accelerator project and Medill,” said Franklin, who also directs the Medill Local News Initiative. “Mackenzie has a deep well of understanding about the local news business, and he has a vast network of contacts around the country. He’ll bring all of those assets to help improve what is already one of the more innovative local news ecosystems in America right here in Chicago.”

The Medill Local News Accelerator, one of the only projects of its kind housed inside a journalism school, is being funded with a $2.4 million grant over the next three years from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

“Chicagoland is a vibrant, dynamic system of communities that deserves a vibrant, dynamic system of local news coverage,” Warren said. “We see dozens of encouraging examples coming into existence. The Medill Local News Accelerator is positioned to help these early movers, and others yet to be invented, find their places as both essential community services and successful, sustainable businesses.

“Our opportunity is to help develop and support the new business models through which local news organizations will grow and thrive,” Warren continued. “For several reasons, there’s no better city in America for this initiative. First, Chicagoland comprises distinct neighborhood and suburbs that each have their own geographies, characters, histories. Second, as a cultural center, there’s a critical mass of people who are passionately connected to any interest you can imagine. Together, this tapestry suggests that a wide range of potential news products could earn loyal, paying customers. Third, the combined forces and vision of the McCormick Foundation and Northwestern University, both dedicated to fueling the local news ecosystem in Chicago, is an asset no other city in America enjoys.”

The Accelerator is one of several major local news-related projects now underway at Medill, which launched the Local News Initiative five years ago.

Medill is now overseeing an index of local news readers being used by more than 100 outlets across the U.S., a Metro Media Lab project that is conducting audience research and experiments for Chicago news organizations, a Midwest Hub for Solutions Journalism, and a program for high school teachers and students called Teach for Chicago Journalism. Medill also is now the home for the State of Local News Project, a major research database tracking local news closures and startups in the U.S.

“A stronger local news ecosystem translates to a clear outcome: We and our neighbors will live healthier, more informed, safer, happier, more fulfilling lives,” Warren said. “The track record of the Medill Local News Initiative, together with Chicago-based partners we’ve worked with already, shows we have great momentum and our odds of success are high.”

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Medill inducts eight alumni into 2023 Hall of Achievement

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date May 23, 2023
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Eight distinguished alumni – including journalists, marketers and a long-serving faculty member – will join the Hall of Achievement at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. The honor recognizes alumni whose careers have had positive effects on their fields.

“Induction in the Hall of Achievement is the highest honor Medill bestows on our alumni,” said Medill Dean Charles Whitaker. “I’m delighted to add the names of these eight amazing individuals to the roster of alums who have distinguished themselves across a variety of domains. They serve as inspiration to our students, faculty and staff for the varied and outstanding contributions they have made to their industries and to society. I could not be more proud to welcome them to Medill’s Hall of Achievement.”

Alumni who will be recognized by Medill on May 18:

Jim Berry (BSJ77)

Jim Berry is an evening news anchor for CBS News Miami. His broadcasting career began at WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina, as a reporter. He became an anchor/reporter before moving to WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. There, he anchored and reported news, and hosted a public affairs show before turning his attention to sports. He joined WSVN-TV in Miami as sports director and main sports anchor before being hired by CBS at WBBM-TV in Chicago as a sportscaster. Berry then moved to CBS-owned WFOR-TV in Miami as its main sports anchor and host of Miami Dolphin pregame and postgame shows. Berry is a three-time best of Miami winner with five Emmy Awards. He is a member of the Silver Circle of Excellence in the Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. Over the years, he has been a frequent motivational speaker and supporter of numerous charities that mentor young people.

Casey Bukro (BSJ58, MSJ61)

Casey Bukro pioneered environmental reporting, becoming the nation’s first environment writer for a major newspaper when the Chicago Tribune named him to that post in 1970. Now retired, Bukro will publish a book this year on nuclear energy based on his coverage as a reporter. Bukro also writes an ethics blog about journalism that won the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2015 Sigma Delta Chi award. In 1967, Bukro and fellow Medill alumnus William Jones won the Tribune’s prestigious Edward Scott Beck Award for the groundbreaking “Save Our Lake” series on Great Lakes pollution. Bukro served as the Society of Professional Journalists’ Midwest regional director from 1974 to 1981. He wrote the society’s first code of ethics and served as its national ethics chair. Bukro is a member of the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame.

Craig Greenfield (IMC00)

As Global President, Client Partner at EssenceMediacom’s Media Futures Group, Craig Greenfield works with Google’s consumer and B2B businesses to optimize the return on the company’s performance media investments. His interest in media, creative and technology propelled him to the forefront of the performance-marketing industry. From 2005 to 2020, Greenfield held several leadership positions at DoubleClick Performics. As Performics’ Chief Operating Officer, he orchestrated go-to-market functions and led global client engagements. He also launched the Intent Lab, a research unit that studies consumer purchasing habits in partnership with Medill.

Sarah L. Kaufman (MSJ87)

Sarah L. Kaufman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and journalist who reported on the arts, pop culture, society, science and sports for the Washington Post for more than two decades. She is the author of the award-winning nonfiction book The Art of Grace and a contributing author of Balanchine: Celebrating a Life in Dance. She has taught writing and journalism courses at Harvard Extension School, Princeton, American University and other institutions, and is a longtime faculty member of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Kaufman joined the Washington Post in 1994 after working at the Buffalo News and the Arlington Heights Daily Herald. Her work has earned her many awards, including the Criticism and Culture of Ballet Lifetime Achievement Award from the XXIV International Ballet Festival of Miami, and the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism in 2010.

David Nelson (BSJ67, MSJ68)

David Nelson is an associate professor emeritus at Medill. Since retiring from the school in 2012 after teaching for 40 years, he has continued to teach writing to adult professionals at Northwestern University’s School of Professional Studies. While at Medill, he held several positions, including associate dean, director of graduate studies and chair of the promotion and tenure committee. He helped launch Medill’s Teaching Newspaper program, now known as Journalism Residency, and helped build the Chicago Medill Graduate newsroom at Illinois Center. Before turning his career to teaching, Nelson was a reporter and editor at the Miami Herald, and a writer and editor for Pioneer Press, Time and Money magazines. While in Miami, he created the template for Knight Newspapers, Inc.’s local news coverage. He is a founding member of the New York Times College Advisory Board and served as a management training consultant for the Modern Media Institute (now the Poynter Institute), as well as a senior consultant to AR&D.

Bertha González Nieves (IMC97)

CEO and Co-Founder of Tequila Casa Dragones, Bertha González Nieves is an entrepreneur with a career rooted in the luxury consumer goods space. Dedicated to the tequila industry for 25 years, González Nieves is the first certified female Maestra Tequilera by the Academia Mexicana de Catadores de Tequila. Forbes has identified her as “One of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Mexico.” She was also named one of Mexico’s top young businesswomen by Revista Expansión, Mexico’s leading business magazine; “The Most Innovative Women in Food + Drink” by Food & Wine and Fortune; and “The First Lady of Tequila” by the Los Angeles Times. The New York Times calls her “The Spirit Behind High-End Tequila.” In 2022, Revista Quien recognized her as “One of the 50 People Transforming Mexico.” Prior to co-founding Casa Dragones, González Nieves spent more than a decade in leading roles in the tequila industry as well as a consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton working closely with leading global consumer goods companies.

Emily Ramshaw (BSJ03)

Emily Ramshaw is the CEO and co-founder of The 19th*, the nation’s first independent nonprofit newsroom at the intersection of gender, politics and policy. The 19th* aims to elevate the voices of women and LGBTQ+ people — particularly those left at the margins of American media — with free-to-consume and free-to-republish daily journalism, newsletters and live events. Ramshaw started her career at The Dallas Morning News, where she broke national stories about sexual abuse inside Texas’ youth lock-ups, reported from inside a West Texas polygamist compound and uncovered “fight clubs” at state institutions for people with disabilities. Prior to The 19th*, Ramshaw was editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune, an award-winning local news startup and the largest statehouse news operation in the nation. She is on the board of the Pulitzer Prize where she is serving a nine-year term. In 2020, Ramshaw was named to Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list.

Frank Whittaker (BSJ78, MSJ79)

Frank Whittaker retired this year as station manager and vice president of news for NBC5 Chicago after working more than 46 years in three Chicago TV newsrooms. Whittaker’s career began at WBBM before he moved to ABC Chicago in 1993 to become assistant news director and executive producer of the evening newscast. Whittaker later joined NBC 5 where he was promoted to VP of News in 1999 and Station Manager in 2008. He was responsible for leading NBC 5 news on broadcast and digital platforms. NBC 5’s investigative unit became the largest in Chicago under his leadership. Whittaker won a Peabody Award in 2016 for his work on the Laquan McDonald investigation, as well as five Emmy awards for his reporting and producing. He served as a board member and chairman for the Illinois Broadcasters Association and is currently on the board of the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation.

Mike McGrew (IMC97)

2022 inductee Mike McGrew will be honored at the 2023 ceremony.

Mike McGrew assumed the role of executive vice president, chief communications, CSR & diversity officer for Constellation Brands in April 2020. In this role, he leads a team responsible for developing and executing the company’s corporate communications, investor relations, corporate social responsibility, and diversity, equity and inclusion strategies designed to enhance the company’s reputation with key stakeholders and advance the company’s business strategy. Prior to joining Constellation Brands, McGrew held various roles with increasing responsibility at Grainger, then a $9B global provider of industrial supplies and equipment. Prior to joining Grainger, he worked in corporate communications for Alliant Foodservice (one of the nation’s largest, privately held broad-line foodservice distributors) and Morton International (a leading manufacturer of salt and specialty chemical products). McGrew received his bachelor’s degree in organizational studies from the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern.

Renita Young (MSJ09)

Renita Young (MSJ09) will serve as the 2023 ceremony emcee.

Renita Young is an award-winning business journalist, Senior Markets Correspondent of TD Ameritrade Network in Chicago and voiceover talent. She’s also host of The Wrap, TD Ameritrade Network’s daily segment summarizing market moves.

Previously, Young was a New York-based correspondent for Bloomberg Radio, TV and Quicktake, the company’s 24-hour streaming platform. Her radio feature on the social media influencer pay gap won two awards: The Association for Women in Communications’ Clarion Award for Radio Feature Story and First Place in the Radio Enterprise Reporting category for the Journalists Association of New York. Young launched #YourMoneyStory, Bloomberg’s first social media personal finance show interviewing experts on the core concepts of wealth building. Additionally, Young hosted the Bloomberg Black Business Beat, a daily radio report covering the intersection of culture and commerce impacting Black audiences. Young has also been a Markets reporter for Bloomberg TV and launched Bloomberg Radio’s daily Crypto report and Quicktake as afternoon anchor.

Prior to Bloomberg, Young worked with Reuters where she covered commodities and launched #GoldWatch, the company’s first social media show uncovering trends in the gold market. She reported for Reuters TV, USA Today and theGrio.com on landmark events happening in Chicago during President Barack Obama’s presidency and key bills at the Illinois State Legislature. During 2012, Young took Jet Magazine to the London Olympics by managing its Twitter feed (#JetOlympics2012) and contributed to BBC TV and Radio. Young launched her business news reporting career at K23-TV in Nairobi, Kenya’s first local 24-hour news network, during Medill’s Global Journalism Program. Throughout her career, Young has also worked with WBBM and WVON radio stations in Chicago, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune in Louisiana and AOL.com among other media outlets.

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Associated Press Journalists Awarded the 2022 James Foley Medill Medal for Courage

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date May 23, 2023
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Winners' head shots with photo of Medill medal.

Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka and Vasilisa Stepanenko have been awarded the James Foley Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism for their exclusive coverage in Mariupol, Ukraine. Their five-part story, “Erasing Mariupol,” chronicles the attacks of Russia on innocent Ukrainian civilians during the early stages of the Russian-Ukraine war.

The award is given by the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University.

As the only international media remaining in the country, the journalists risked their lives to report harrowing details of children as young as 18-months-old buried in trenches. Chernov’s first-person writing describes the journalists’ narrow escape out of the country after learning Russian forces were hunting them down.

“Alone among Western journalists, the AP team remained in an increasingly terrorized Mariupol. They sent the outside world graphic photos, video and narrative, exposing the horror of the Russian siege,” said Medill Professor Emeritus and co-judge Donna Leff. “Their bravery under fire and their work to help the people of Mariupol, guiding them to shelters and protecting them, define courage in journalism.”

Upon learning of a growing Russian disinformation campaign to discredit the journalists’ work, the trio knew it was imperative to get to safety and share their reporting with the world. Stepanenko wore and smuggled a tampon embedded with a tiny data card through 15 Russian checkpoints. The card contained exclusive footage from a Ukrainian medic, Yuliia Paievska (known as Taira in Ukraine), who was captured by Russia days after entrusting the team with the footage.

Russia freed Taira from custody in June 2022 after the AP published the resulting story and video from Talia’s footage on May 20, 2022. She personally credited the AP for her release. Even after escaping from Mariupol, the team continued to cover the war in Ukraine and were the first to document a mass grave and torture chambers in the city of Izium.

“With shelling going on all around them and a Russian target on their back, the AP trio found a way to sneak dispatches and photographs out of the besieged city of Mariupol, providing a lifeline to the city’s desperate residents,” said co-judge judge Al From, a Medill Board of Advisers member and the Democratic Leadership Council founder. “I cannot think of more heroic journalism under more dangerous conditions.”

“The important reporting by this team of AP journalists at great risk to their own safety gave the world a much better understanding of what war looks like to civilians living through it,” co-judge and Medill Professor Emeritus Ellen Shearer said. “Their work embodies the moral courage that Jim Foley stood for.”

Foley was a Medill alumnus killed by ISIS extremists for his reporting in 2014.

Since the stories’ publication throughout March and October 2022, Chernov, Maloletka and Stepaneko’s coverage has saved thousands of lives and drawn attention to atrocities that would have otherwise gone largely unnoticed.

Honorable Mention

This year’s honorable mention was awarded to Lynzy Billing for her coverage of CIA-backed night raids killing hundreds of civilians in Afghanistan. Her story, “The Night Raids,” which was published by ProPublica, revealed the Zero Units, squadrons of the U.S. trained Afghan special forces soldiers killing civilians based on faulty intelligence.

Over the course of more than three years, Billing conducted more than 350 interviews with current and former Afghan and U.S. government, defense and security officials. Courageously, she was on the ground in rural pockets of Afghanistan few reporters have visited before.

“Billing’s investigative reporting on the CIA-aided night raids in Afghanistan is a remarkable piece of journalism,” From said. “By her dogged persistence and incredible courage, she uncovered a little-known and under-reported story that casts a dark shadow over covert American activities in a tragic war.”

About the James Foley Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism

The medal is given for work published during a calendar year to an individual or team of journalists working for a U.S.-based media outlet who best displayed moral, physical, ethical, financial or political courage in pursuit of a story or series of stories. In 2014, the name of the award was changed to honor Medill alumnus James Foley (MSJ08). Foley was captured while reporting in Syria in 2012 and killed by ISIS extremists in 2014. The award comes with a $5,000 prize.

The selection committee included Democratic Leadership Council founder Al From, Medill Professor Emeritus Donna Leff and Medill Professor Emeritus Ellen Shearer.

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Hollywood legend Mara Brock Akil to address 2023 graduates at Medill convocation

Post author By Belinda Clarke
Post date May 23, 2023
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Medill will welcome screenwriter and television producer Mara Brock Akil (BSJ92) to speak with 2023 graduates and families as Medill’s convocation speaker.

“We are honored that Mara is returning to campus to share her insights, experiences and life lessons with the Medill community,” said Dean Charles Whitaker (BSJ80, MSJ81). “Mara’s career has equipped her with an important perspective that I hope will inspire the Class of 2023 as they venture out into the world to begin their careers.”

Brock Akil has written and produced over 400 episodes of television, leaving a tremendous impact on Hollywood. After graduating from Medill, she wrote for the television series South Central and Moesha before becoming supervising producer on The Jamie Foxx Show.

In 2000, she developed the seminal television series Girlfriends, a witty and honest exploration of the multi-faceted nature of Black womanhood, and from there, went on to develop the spin-off series The Game.

Since then, she has produced multiple culture-shifting series that celebrate the complexity and vulnerability of humanity. In 2017, she was inducted into the Medill Hall of Achievement and in 2019 she was honored with the prestigious Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award by NATPE.

The Hollywood Reporter has named her as one of the top 50 Showrunners five years in a row and as one of the Women in Entertainment Power 100. She was honored by Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood Awards and is the winner of multiple NAACP Image Awards.

In 2020, Brock Akil signed a deal with Netflix to exclusively produce television shows for the streaming platform under her new banner, story27 Productions.

Convocation will take place at 9:30 a.m, Sunday, June 11 in Evanston at the Ryan Fieldhouse with a reception to follow.

Student Speakers

Andrew Rowan (BSJ23)

Andrew Rowan (BSJ23), a journalism major with minors in data science and business institutions, is the 2023 Medill convocation undergraduate student speaker. Andrew was the News Director of the Northwestern News Network and also served as an executive producer, reporter and anchor. He held leadership roles at Northwestern Hillel and in the Medill Undergraduate Student Advisory Council.

Chelsea Zhao (MSJ23)

Chelsea Zhao (MSJ23), a journalism masters student in the health, environment and science specialization, is the 2023 Medill convocation graduate student speaker. Zhao was a Medill Student Ambassador and a member of both the Chicago Journalists Association and Asian American Journalists Association. She was a member of the first cohort of Chicago Reader’s Racial Justice Writer’s Cohort and a freelance contributor to many publications including South Side Weekly, Cicero Independiente and Chicago Health.

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Investigative reporter Kristin Thorne brings her Medill skills to another level: making a true crime series come to life

Post author By Rafaela Jinich
Post date April 24, 2023
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“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. Missing persons collage