Chicago Journalists Association

We’re just A WEEK away from our next event, Building an Impactful and Award-Winning Journalism Career, in which four former Dorothy Storck Awards winners will share how they’ve built successful and impactful journalism careers.

Join us and Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica; Brandis Friedman, WTTW; Ismael Pérez, Investigative Project on Race and Equity; and Nell Salzman, The New York Times, Local Investigations Fellow for networking and career insights from some of Chicago’s most talented journalists.

This event, sponsored by the Northwestern-Medill Local News Accelerator and moderated by Deborah Douglas, senior lecturer and founding director of the Medill Solutions Journalism Hub at Northwestern University and 2021 Dorothy Storck winner, will be held at the school’s Chicago newsroom at 303 E. Wacker Drive. Pizza and pop will be provided and tickets are still available to purchase online!

You don’t want to miss this! We’d love to see you on Thursday!

Building an Impactful & Award-Winning Journalism Career A Panel Conversation with Winners of the Dorothy Storck Award

Congrats to the many members of our CJA community who received recognition for their outstanding work this week!

Our Vice President Maia McDonald was part of a reporting team that earned second place for the 2025 Shaufler Prize in Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

Maia joined many other CJA community members like Co-President Alexandria Jacobson, 2025 Dorothy Storck Award Winner Brandis Griffith Friedman and Sarah Brown Boyden Best of the Best Winner Stephanie Zimmermann as finalists for the Chicago Headline Club (SPJ Chicago Chapter)'s Peter Lisagor Awards.

Plus, it's great to see 2025 Dorothy Storck second prize winner Alma Campos honored with a Studs Terkel Community Media Award from Public Narrative and Jim Williams, our 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, also get recognized by CHC, too.

If you'd like to meet some of these award-winning journalists and and learn how they create stories with impact, please join us for a networking event and panel discussion on Thursday, April 9!

Building an Impactful & Award-Winning Journalism Career A Panel Conversation with Winners of the Dorothy Storck Award

Have you grabbed your ticket to CJA’s next event, Building an Impactful and Award-Winning Journalism Career with several accomplished local journalists, yet?

Four of our most recent Dorothy Storck Awards winners are talking to us about how to build award-winning, successful careers in journalism during a panel moderated by Deborah Douglas, senior lecturer and founding director of the Medill Solutions Journalism Hub at Northwestern University, as well as 2021 Dorothy Storck winner.

This event, sponsored by the Northwestern-Medill Local News Accelerator, will be held at the school’s Chicago newsroom at 303 E. Wacker Drive. Pizza and pop will be provided. Please secure tickets for this free event, one of the many benefits of being a CJA member. Tickets for non-members are $15.

Building an Impactful & Award-Winning Journalism Career A Panel Conversation with Winners of the Dorothy Storck Award

Join us next month on April 9 for what we’re sure will be an enlightening conversation about Building an Impactful and Award-Winning Journalism Career with a group of accomplished local journalists, four of our most recent Dorothy Storck Awards winners:

Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica (2023 winner)
Brandis Friedman, WTTW (2025 winner)
Ismael Pérez, Investigative Project on Race and Equity (2022 winner)
Nell Salzman, The New York Times, Local Investigations Fellow (2024 winner)

Moderated by Deborah Douglas, senior lecturer and founding director of the Medill Solutions Journalism Hub at Northwestern University, as well as 2021 Dorothy Storck winner, these Chicago journalists will take attendees through their journalism careers and give suggestions on how to focus on journalism with impact.

This event, sponsored by the Northwestern-Medill Local News Accelerator, will be held at the school’s Chicago newsroom at 303 E. Wacker Drive. Pizza and pop will be provided. Tickets are free for CJA members and available for non-members to purchase online!

https://bit.ly/storckpanel

Sharing a message from our friends with the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA).

SAJA Chicago is hosting its Iftar in celebration of Ramadan from 5:15 to 7:30 p.m. TONIGHT — all are welcome but please RSVP: https://saja.org/event-6574667

The Rev. Jesse Jackson has been celebrated and memorialized as a civil rights icon and a giant who stood up for the rights of all people. Here in Chicago, we also knew him as a south sider who showed up for freedom and justice.

In this photo, with CJA’s late president Allen Rafalson (right) and former NBC Chicago anchor Rob Stafford, the Rev. Jackson joined us at our 2017 awards ceremony where we recognized the sacrifice and the excellence of our journalists. The Rev. Jackson dedicated his life to service, and he inspired so many people throughout our nation and right here in Chicago. We are grateful to him for showing up for all.