Tools for Covering Systemic Racism

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March 25, 2022

Digging Into Investigative Journalism with the Experts

Please join us April 28 for a 90-minute virtual program on covering race and equity. Few issues are more pernicious than institutional racism. We invite you to learn from some of the best.

The workshop is sponsored by the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists and the newly created Investigative Project on Race and Equity—a project created by Chicago Reporter alumni and supporters from around the nation who organized as Friends of The Chicago Reporter in September 2020.

The Investigative Project supports data-driven reporting, trains young journalists and collaborates with media organizations to shine a light on these issues, which are critical to the future of Chicago and the nation.

Veteran investigative journalists will conduct the workshop, including:

Alden K. Loury, senior editor, WBEZ’s Race, Class and Communities desk.
Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, director, Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism.
Kari Lydersen, co-director, Social Justice News Nexus, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
Moderator: Josh McGhee, reporter, Injustice Watch.

This is an invaluable opportunity for:

Reporters seeking professional development;
Journalism students—graduate and undergraduate;
Community members interested in better understanding investigative reporting.

The program will be recorded for future viewing. REGISTER NOW for this free workshop. Questions? Contact Susy Schultz at susy.schultz@gmail.com.

Marking 50 Years: Join Friends of The Chicago Reporter July 21-22, 2022

On Thursday, July 21, it’s time to celebrate 50 years of investigative reporting on race and equity at the new Bronzeville Winery.

On Friday, July 22, we will also host a screening of videos featuring Reporter alumni talking about its impact. A panel will also discuss five decades of data-driven investigative reporting. Jeff Spitz of Groundswell Educational Films–who produced our oral mini-histories–will join us.

RSVP details coming soon.

Mentoring Reporters ... and Photographers and Designers

From its scrappy early days as an onion-skin newsletter to a full-color magazine and website, The Chicago Reporter nurtured many budding reporters. But it also did the same for several designers, graphic artists and photographers, whose creative work is vital to investigative reporting. In this video, Christine Wachter, former presentation editor of Catalyst and The Chicago Reporter, talks about the Reporter as a training ground for young journalists.

Many thanks to the Groundswell Educational Films team, Producer Jeff Spitz and Editor Devon MacNerland. Other videos in this series include alumni Laura Washington, and Kevin Blackistone, who is busy covering “March Madness'' for The Washington Post. Folded Map project founder Tonika Lewis Johnson was featured on WBEZ and at the National Public Housing Museum with an interactive project on the loss of equity for Black homeowners due to contract buying.

Congrats to Reporter Alum Jeff Kelly Lowenstein

Jeff was part of the USA Today investigative team that analyzed nursing home data during the pandemic and found massive failures in the eldercare business nationwide. As disclosed in the March 10, 2022 report:

“USA Today has revealed ownership webs invisible to consumers. Problems across chains eluded federal officials overseeing nursing homes, who were focused on individual facilities during the pandemic.”

Jeff is founder and executive director of the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism and a panelist at our April 28 workshop on tools for reporting on systemic racism.

Friends of The Chicago Reporter Core Committee

Kevin Blackistone
Johnathon E. Briggs
Tom Brune
Angela Caputo
Thom Clark
Kay Humphries
Rui Kaneya
Alden Loury
John McDermott Jr.
Josh McGhee

Sharon McGowan
Irene Pace
Jack Roberts
John Schrag
Susy Schultz
Christine Wachter
Renee Ward
Laura Washington
James Ylisela Jr.

Become a Friend of The Chicago Reporter

“We at Illinois Humanities are thrilled to be supporting the work documenting the almost 50-year legacy of The Chicago Reporter,” said Gabrielle Lyon, executive director, Illinois Humanities. “In one of the most segregated cities and at a time when so many local newsrooms are diminished, data-driven, policy-changing investigative reporting on race and inequity is critical. We are glad to help in shoring up this important legacy.”

Join with Illinois Humanities and others by supporting Friends of The Chicago Reporter today!

FriendsofTheChicagoReporter.org