UCHICAGOOPPORTuniTieS

Timely and accurate information plays a vital role in our increasingly interconnected world. Through the University of Chicago’s strong liberal arts curriculum, students interested in journalism pursue multiple, interdisciplinary realms of knowledge, even as they seek to become experts in specific areas of interest. Internships, fellowships, employment opportunities, and alumni networks take UChicago students across the country and around the globe, allowing them to grow outside the classroom, develop as journalists, and pursue opportunities in a wide variety of media.

Chicago Careers in Journalismcaps.uchicago.edu/cci/journalism.shtml

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careers in Journalism

Chik A Ok AFORuChicago degree College Class of 2011, psychologyhome Lagos, nigeria; Country Club hills, iL Occupation Sports columnist at Blacklight Magazine

Okafor covers sports for Blacklight Magazine, a student-run online publication. At WHPK on campus, he cohosts a sports talk radio program. His last internship was as a sports production intern at WGN-TV Chicago. He’s currently taking Journalism: News Writing in the Digital Age, a course through the Creative Writing program at the University.

“When i came to uChicago, i was pre-med, but i decided to chase my dreams and become a sports journalist. Once i made that decision, kathy Anderson at CCiJ gave me the advice and resources to make the dream a reality.”

RACheL CROMidASuChicago degree College Class of 2011, law, letters, and society, and gender studieshome San diego, CAOccupation Reporter and web producer at Chicago news Cooperative

Cromidas helps manage the Chicago News Cooperative (CNC) website and writes breaking news stories for the publication. Through the CNC, she has published stories in the New York Times on topics ranging from economic development on Chicago’s South Side to the state of local schools.

“i attended Taking the next Step as a second-year, where working journalists and alumni were eager to talk to students about the field. They inspired me to apply for and receive a Summer Action Grant from the College to pursue an independent reporting project on the 2016 Olympics bid.”

TARikA khATTARuChicago degree College Class of 2013, history and cinema and media studieshome new delhi, indiaOccupation Film crew member at Fire escape Films

As a second-year in the College, Khattar is active in print, photo, and broadcast journalism and documentary filmmaking through groups on campus. At UChicago’s Fire Escape Films, she helps to shoot and edit student films. Her feature assignment for a CCIJ workshop was published on the University’s Chicago Studies website, and she’s been offered the chance to write a column for the website as a result.

“The CCiJ workshops bring in journalists from publications like the Chicago Tribune or from the Chicago news Cooperative, and they teach you the skills you need to write a publishable article.”

hundreds of UChicago students are currently

working toward careers in journalism,

reflecting the belief that a liberal arts education

remains the best preparation for jobs that require

insightful writing and reporting. Information may

be disseminated through the internet, magazines,

newspapers, television, radio, or new media, but it

must be examined thoughtfully.

Like UChicago’s undergraduates, great journalists

don’t settle for easy answers. Journalists explain

complicated stories and situations, giving them

context and putting them into perspective—and

often in times that require urgent action. To expose

lies, explain dangers, and inform their readers,

journalists must fall back on their broad knowledge

base and their research skills, especially when

approaching new topics.

For decades, the University of Chicago has

provided tremendous preparation for students

seeking to become influential journalists. Since its

founding, the College has produced some of the

most innovative and incisive leaders in the field.

Alumni Leaders in Journalism

david Blum, AB’77, editor-in-chief of the Village Voice

david Broder, AB’47, AM’51, Pulitzer Prize winner for

commentary; columnist for the Washington Post

david Brooks, AB’83, columnist for the New York Times

Ana Marie Cox, AB’94, founding editor of the

Wonkette blog

katharine Graham, AB’38, head of the Washington Post

for more than two decades

Seymour hersh, AB’58, Pulitzer Prize–winning

investigative journalist and author

dan hertzberg, AB’68, Pulitzer Prize winner and

managing editor of the Wall Street Journal

daniel nasaw, AB’02, Washington correspondent for

the Guardian

PROGRAMPROFiLeS

iSAAC WOLFuChicago degree AB’06, economicshome Washington, dCOccupation national reporter at Scripps howard news Service

Wolf covers stories across the country for print and TV. His investigative reporting often explores consumer finance and tainted consumer goods, and he has appeared on C-SPAN as a guest interviewer. As an undergrad, Wolf received the Roy W. Howard award for college reporting for an article he published in the Chicago Maroon student paper.

“The university of Chicago provided a wonderful education. i was surrounded by brilliant students and possibly the most creative thinkers i will ever get to spend time with. it was a wonderful place to expand my horizons and think more broadly and critically about the world.”

AyeShA SiddiqiuChicago degree College Class of 2011, political sciencehome karachi, PakistanOccupation Jeff Metcalf Fellows intern at kartemquin Films; coeditor of Diskord

Siddiqi assisted with postproduction work at Kartemquin Films, which produces socially conscious documentaries, including Hoop Dreams. At Diskord, a UChicago progressive student newspaper, she wrote and edited articles highlighting global issues. She took a quarter off from her studies to work in Pakistan with the group War against Rape, where she singlehandedly produced the organization’s newsletter.

“Growing up in a country notorious for its media censorship and cycles of military rule, i became exposed to socioeconomic turmoil at a very young age and, consequently, began to appreciate the notion of free inquiry and unbridled academic curiosity. i chose uChicago because it is certainly known for this.”

ChRiSTOPheR ROSSuChicago degree AB’08, Slavic languages and literatureshome Brooklyn, nyOccupation Research associate at Details

Ross researches, fact-checks, reports, and writes original stories for the Details website and magazine, and he manages the publication’s interns. He interned at Stop Smiling, an arts and culture magazine, while at UChicago.

“nearly every step of my career has been aided by a uChicago alum or peer. it’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of the alumni network in finding internships and jobs.”

nate Silver, AB’00, founder of FiveThirtyEight.com

Bret Stephens, AB’95, writer, editorialist, and member of

the Wall Street Journal editorial board

Journalism on Campus

An active and vibrant journalism community thrives on

campus. There are 20 student publications with hundreds

of student editors, writers, production assistants, and

photographers. UChicago student publications have

received numerous accolades.

n The Chicago Maroon received the Newspaper

Pacemaker, the highest honor given by the Associated

Collegiate Press.

n The Chicago Weekly was awarded a Silver Medalist

Critique by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

It was also awarded “All-Columbian” honors for

presentation and general operations.

A Sampling of Student Media Organizations

The Chicago Maroon been an independent student

newspaper since 1982.

The Chicago Weekly is a student-produced paper,

covering arts and culture on the South Side.

Chicago Studies is the home of poets, photographers,

citizen journalists, and multimedia experimenters who

are exploring Chicago and want to share their experience

with the University community.

MODA is a magazine celebrating the art of fashion at the

University of Chicago; it includes events and fashion news.

The Shady Dealer is a humor newspaper, similar in

character to The Onion.

Sliced Bread was created as a forum for student writing

and art. It features prose, poetry, creative nonfiction, and

art of all mediums.

The Midway Review is a nonpartisan campus magazine of

intelligent political and cultural commentary and criticism.

Triple Helix is an international journal of science, society,

and law.

PROGRAMPROFiLeS

Chicago Careers in Journalism ProgramThe Chicago Careers in Journalism (CCIJ) program helps students develop the practical skills necessary to succeed in newsrooms across the country and around the world. Participants in the program work with their advisors to cultivate connections, develop knowledge of specialized areas, produce “clips,” and learn about ways they can contribute to this important field.

Chicago Careers in Journalism includes:

n Advising & Mentoring in Journalism: Career Advising and Planning Services (CAPS) provides advising in journalism for College students. Since 2005, Chicago Careers in Journalism Program Director Kathy Anderson has guided students interested in journalism. A former William Benton Fellow in Broadcast Journalism at the University, she worked for 20 years in daily journalism, primarily at ABC News, and for eight years she produced and wrote documentaries. Her master’s degree is from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

n Workshops: Guest journalists lead a wide variety of workshops on topics that range from basic reporting and science writing to documentary production.

n Speakers Bureau: Journalists, including alumni, come to campus for informal meetings and to discuss the intricacies of their fields.

n Student Publications Support: Journalism advisors support all student publications in their endeavors.

n The Jeff Metcalf Fellows Program: This program provides substantive internships exclusively to UChicago undergraduates. Over 400 internship opportunities are available to students each year in diverse fields, including journalism, arts and culture, business and consulting, and science and research. CCIJ awards a small number of grants to students who have secured unpaid journalism internships for the summer at any news organization in the world.

Students have interned at:

ABC, Good Morning America (New York) ABC News Political Unit (Chicago) The Atlantic (Washington, DC) Bloomberg (Washington, DC) Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Chicago) CBS, Evening News with Katie Couric (New York) CNN, Anderson Cooper (New York) Details (New York) The Economist (London) Fox News (Chicago) Harper’s Bazaar (New York) The Hill (Washington, DC) Kartemquin Films, documentary production (Chicago) Lifetime Networks, Original Movies Programming Department (Los Angeles) MTV (Latin America) National Public Radio (Washington, DC)

NBC, Meet the Press (Washington, DC)NBC Political Unit (Washington, DC) O, The Oprah Magazine (New York) Scripps Howard Foundation Wire (Washington, DC) Voice of San Diego (San Diego) WBEZ, Chicago Matters (Chicago) WBEZ, 848 (Chicago) WTTW, Chicago Tonight and Documentary Production Unit (Chicago) Among many others

Additional OpportunitiesTaking the Next Step is a College-sponsored conference held each January available to all second- and third-year students. Students attend panel discussions with alumni from around the country and a keynote presentation by a prominent alumni speaker. Hundreds of alumni attend this event and discuss the ways in which they have put their UChicago educations to use. Networking opportunities are provided throughout the day, as well as through industry-specific luncheon roundtables. Panels in the past have featured alumni in criticism, journalism, new media, publishing, and screenwriting.

AnThOniA AkiTundeuChicago degree AB’07, english language and literaturehome kansas City, MOOccupation Web editor for The Pitch; intern at kCuR Radio

At The Pitch, Akitunde managed the publication’s website and multimedia resources and promoted stories via social media. At KCUR Radio, she reported for KC Currents, a program covering issues of diversity in the city. As an undergrad, she was the managing editor for the student-run arts and culture publication Chicago Weekly. She continues to look to the CCIJ program director for mentorship and career advice.

MiTCh MOnTOyAuChicago degree College Class of 2011, english language and literaturehome Pueblo, COOccupation editorial intern for Time Out Chicago

In his six-month internship at Time Out Chicago magazine, Montoya wrote articles and features about arts and culture for print and online. He received a $3,000 grant from CCIJ to continue the unpaid internship through the summer.

careers in Journalism