Brhett Vickery to Join WGN Morning News as Traffic Reporter
Monday, November 27, 2023
WGN News has hired Brhett Vickery as traffic reporter. Vickery will join WGN Morning News on December 11, according to Dominick Stasi, WGN-TV news director. She replaces Sarah Jindra, who is now co-host of the new WGN afternoon show, “Spotlight Chicago.”
Before joining WGN-TV, Vickery spent nearly three years as a reporter for Fox6 News in Milwaukee, first as morning reporter for “Weekend WakeUp,” and most recently joining the weekday news team. Prior to Fox6, she spent nearly two years as a multimedia journalist at WSET-TV in Lynchburg, Virginia. Vickery got her start in Chicago while at NBC Sports Chicago as an intern, working on events such as Chicago Cubs and White Sox games and the Chicago Bulls NBA Draft coverage.
City Bureau Hosts 2023 Fall Civic Reporting Fellows Meeting
Monday, November 27, 2023
Join City Bureau for Public Newsroom 154: "Can Investment in Bronzeville be Truly Equitable?" on Tuesday, November 30, 2023 | Event Link
City Bureau asks 'As developers eye Bronzeville for new housing projects, how can members of the historic Black Metropolis ensure such investment prioritizes equity and avoids displacing long-time residents?'. The Civic Reporting Fellow class of Jerrel Floyd, Troy Gaston, Nicole Johnson, Reema Saleh, and Ahmad Sayles will be on hand for this free workshop.
More information about the Bronzeville Reporting Team and signup for this free event can be found here on City Bureau's website.
Kayla Samoy Promoted to Food Editor at Chicago Tribune
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
The Chicago Tribune's Kayla Samoy announced that she has been promoted to Senior Content Editor, Food. Previously Samoy was Deputy Senior Content Editor.
Before joining the Tribune in February 2022, Samoy had stints at The Associated Press and The Arizona Republic. Samoy graduated from the University of Arizona.
Ryan Chiaverini Promoted to Lead Sports Anchor at ABC 7 Chicago
November 13, 2023
ABC 7 Chicago has promoted Ryan Chiaverini to Lead Sports Anchor. Chiaverini will anchor ABC 7’s 5, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts.
This is a return to sports for Chiaverini who joined ABC 7 Chicago in 2006 as a reporter/fill-in anchor in the sports department. Chiaverini also played college football for the University of Colorado after being a walk-in and eventually receiving a scholarship.
Chiaverini talked to Crain’s Chicago Business Corli Jay in a follow-up interview. The new sports anchor noted that only three people have ever held this job in ABC 7 history; Tim Weigel, Mark Giangreco and Jim Rose. As noted in an earlier edition of the PCC Chicago Media News, Rose retired very recently when he enjoyed his last broadcast on September 15.
Illinois Answers Project Hires Two New Reporters
Thursday, November 9, 2023
The Illinois Answers Project has welcomed two journalists for its new state investigative and solutions team funded by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
Embedded investigative reporters Grace Hauck and Meredith Newman joined the newsroom this fall and are working to collaborate with local newsrooms across Illinois.
The goal of the statewide embed initiative is to pair Illinois Answers’ investigative and solutions resources with the local news judgment and reader expertise of partner newsrooms. The combined effort will produce statewide reports with local relevance, while addressing problems and solutions of consequence in overlooked cities and rural populations statewide.
Aly Brumback Crain's Chicago Business' new Managing Editor
November 6, 2023
Crain’s Chicago Business announced they have promoted Aly Brumback from Assistant Managing Editor for Audience Engagement to Managing Editor. The move happened back in August but Crain’s made first public mention of it in a recent press release.
The same press release notes Brumback joined Crain’s in April 2022 and she went on to overhaul the newsroom’s audience engagement strategies and drive double-digit traffic growth across the website, newsletters and social media. As Managing Editor, Brumback supervises the entire newsroom, working with reporters, editors and graphics staffers, as well as the audience team. Before joining Crain’s, she worked for their sister publication Modern Healthcare and originally came over to Crain’s as a 10-year veteran of the Chicago Tribune.
Mark Weinraub to Cover Banking and Finance for Crain's Chicago Business
November 6, 2023
Mark Weinraub, a 27-year career financial journalist, now covers banking and finance for Crain’s. Weinraub, a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, has spent the bulk of his career writing about commodities, agriculture, Chicago’s futures exchanges, government and other industries for Reuters. Weinraub, 49, worked in the agency’s Washington and New York bureaus before moving to the Chicago office in 2006.
Rachel Herzog to Cover Banking and Finance for Crain's Chicago Business
November 6, 2023
Rachel Herzog joins Crain’s award-winning real estate reporting team, where she will work alongside veterans Danny Ecker and Dennis Rodkin. Herzog, 28, comes to Crain’s from The Real Deal, where she has covered commercial real estate in Chicago since June 2022. Prior to The Real Deal, Herzog wrote for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, where she started in 2017 as a web reporter before being promoted to city government reporter, and later to the statehouse beat. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, receiving a bachelor’s degree in media and journalism, as well as a separate degree in Hispanic literature and culture.
Kelly Saberi Joins Fox Business Network as Chicago Correspondent
November 6, 2023
FOX Business Network announced that Kelly Saberi, a reporter at the Fox affiliate KTBC-TV in Austin, will now serve as a Chicago-based correspondent for the business news outlet.
Saberi is replacing Grady Trimble who now serves as a Washington-based correspondent for FOX Business.
A graduate of the University of Miami, Ms. Saberi holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and political science and is fluent in Farsi.
Press Forward launches Local Chapters in Chicago and Springfield
November 3, 2023
In a September edition of the PCC Chicago Media News, we highlighted the launch of “Press Forward”, a national initiative to strengthen communities and democracy by supporting local news and information with an infusion of more than a half-billion dollars over the next five years.
Last week, Press Forward announced their next phase which will include local chapters. There are six inaugural chapters and two of them are here in Illinois: Chicago and Springfield.
The Chicago Chapter falls under what Press Forward is calling Expanding News Ecosystems. In this area, Press Forward acknowledges there are dynamic and diverse local news outlets but many newsrooms remain undercapitalized, the ecosystem as a whole requires reinforcement, and the donor community needs to be expanded to support the growing ecosystem. The Chicago Community Trust and the MacArthur Foundation will lead the chapter.
The Springfield Chapter falls under what Press Forward is calling Nascent News Ecosystems. As stated by Press Forward, too many Americans live in news deserts, in communities at risk of becoming news deserts, or in places where existing news sources are struggling to meet the information needs of audiences. In some of these places, a donor or group of donors are coming together to support local news and information for the first time. They are conducting landscape studies, building the case for journalism support with new donors, and creating a foundation for ongoing collaboration. The Springfield Chapter will be led by the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln.
Adrienne Broaddus Joins NBC News as Correspondent Based in Chicago
November 3, 2023
According to Next TV, NBC News has hired Adrienne Broaddus to be a correspondent based in Chicago.
Broaddus comes from CNN, where she was also a correspondent, and covered the pandemic and mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas; Oxford, Michigan; and Highland Park, Illinois.
Broaddus joined CNN in 2020. Before that, she spent almost seven years as anchor and reporter at KARE Minneapolis. Previously, she worked at WISH Indianapolis and WNEM Saginaw. She graduated from Michigan State with a degree in journalism.
WBEZ Neighborhood News Newsletter Launches
November 1, 2023
WBEZ Chicago has launched the Neighborhood News Newsletter, a weekly briefing crafted by WBEZ’s data reporters to help readers understand their Chicago neighborhood “through the numbers.” In each weekly email, readers will get personalized statistics pertaining to their Chicago neighborhood, and will be able to dive into comprehensive analyses and data-rich stories about the larger city, through the lens of their local community.
The Neighborhood News Newsletter also offers insights into the economic, social and cultural trends that influence neighborhoods, presented through informative graphs and charts. WBEZ references the 77 official community areas in Chicago in the newsletter.