Introducing the Chicago Media Journal

An introduction, and a small sample to give everyone a sense of what's to come

Chicago Public Library shelving cart at the Harold Washington Library’s periodicals sections

Welcome to the Chicago Media Journal. Here, you will find the latest Chicago Journalism industry news, information about staff and freelance job opportunities, profiles of long-time and new media outlets, and one Chicago journalist’s thoughts on the Chicago media goings-on. As this Substack grows and develops, I hope to start including paid subscriber-exclusive (and/or paid subscriber-first content) - but we will cross this bridge when we get to it.

But who is this random Substack person?

Chicago Media Journal is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I have been blogging and tweeting about Chicago media, especially the written type, since I was a college graduate with two years of college journalism experience and not much in the way of job prospects.

While tweeting about Chicago media wasn’t quite how I got my first post-college journalism gig, it was how I came to the attention of the editor who eventually gave me the opportunity. He was curious about a Twitter rando who not only read a small neighborhood newspaper he was editing, but took the time to write a media analysis about it.

That gig, for then-Wednesday Journal Inc’s Chicago Journal newspaper, ended when Chicago Journal closed a year later. But, thanks to that same editor, I got a gig stringing for suburban Pioneer Press newspapers he ended up editing. In more than a decade since, I made my living (well, enough money to usually pay the bills, anyway), writing for print and online outlets that usually, but not always, specialized in community journalism in the Chicago area. While I’ve had part-time jobs, one of which even turned into a full-time job, I spent most of my journalism career as a stringer. I won a handful of Illinois Press Association awards. Somehow, without even noticing it, I got 14 years of journalism under my belt.

Through it all, my interest in the local media never abated. I’m always curious about newspapers, magazines, news sites and everything in between that cover the Chicago area. I was an avid reader of Robert Feder’s blog until he retired and tried to keep abreast of Chicago media goings on.

Some Chicago area journalists on Twitter used to know me as Strannik_REB45, or Strannik for short. In contrast to the professional Twitter I created in 2014, this was where I always felt free to be myself, and share my opinions on… many things, including Chicago media happenings. But while the handle without a name gave a certain degree of anonymity, I never really tried to hide who I was. Back when Twitter was, in the immortal words of another Chicago area stringer, “the LinkedIn of journalism,” I gave that handle out freely, and used it to share plenty of articles that had my actual byline.

My name is Igor Studenkov. I currently work part-time at the Journal & Topics newspapers in he northwest suburbs, and I’m a stringer for Evanston RoundTable, Chronicle Media newspapers and Streetsblog Chicago. I wrote for, edited and designed Issue 0 of the Westside Review magazine. Oh, and I currently serve on the Chicago Headline Club board of directors.

Wearing an Austin Weekly News T-shirt in Austin, Texas

To those who know me from my professional life, thank you for stopping by. To those who may remember me from my tweeting days, thank you for giving this a chance. You already have some idea what you’re in for if you stick around.

Why I’m starting this Substack

The past year has been more challenging than usual for a lot of Chicago area journalists, especially those of us who are immigrants. I’ve been dealing with some heavy (somewhat related) personal stuff on top of that. Spending so much of the year thinking that I didn't deserve to live made me think about what does give my life meaning. Writing about the field I love, in a pretty trying time, was at the top of the list.

If I am going to devote my time to something that may not even make money, it should probably be about something I’m passionate about. Something that, I hope, can benefit other journalists out there. Something that I hope will inform and entertain.

To the non-journalists, I want to offer a look at some of the day-to-day realities of being a journalist. The time management, balancing multiple gigs, making the dollars stretch. And just some things that are obvious to journalists but may not be obvious to those outside the field about how stories come together, how media outlets choose what to cover and what shapes coverage. We talk a lot about building and rebuilding trust with the communities we cover, and part of that trust, I think, is sharing how the sausage is made. Besides, some of that stuff is fascinating, in my very biased opinion.

And finally, I have the lofty ambition of doing my small part to encourage accountability. We, as the industry, have been uneven at best about demonstrating the kind of accountability that we demand from everybody else. I’ve seen decisions that hurt friends and colleagues, and heard plenty of stories from people I trust. And no, dear readers - it’s not just “legacy media.” Some issues show up no matter what the age, the format, the coverage focus or the medium is. The point is not to spread gossip or settle scores. The point is to make us all better, and create a media landscape where we can all do our best and be our best.

Like I said - a lofty ambition. But, a month ago, I didn’t think I’d be alive next year. Might as well aim high.

What’s in the name

The name “Chicago Media Journal” pays homage not just to the Chicago Journal I wrote for, but the many Chicago Journals that existed before it. The first newspaper to bear that name left a lasting impact (not always in a good way), and the often-overlooked second iteration did some interesting reporting on the Chicago’s South Side.

The OG Chicago Daily/Evening Journal

The fact that, since Chicago Journal I wrote for shut down, not one but two online media outlets reused the name said something about the lasting power of the brand.

But I will get into that in some future post. For now, here’s a bit of a preview for what readers and subscribers can expect from this Substack.

If anything above or below intrigues you, please subscribe. And, whether you subscribe or not, I always welcome questions, comments and criticism.

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Navigating the ICE arrest coverage

McKinley Park News is a news site covering, as the name might suggest, Chicago Southwest Side’s McKinley Park neighborhood. Since the demise of Archer Journal News, it’s been the only outlet to provide consistent local coverage (though Block Club certainly has tried - more on that in a future post).

I bring it up because, when I was first putting together the ideas for this sample post in late November, I came across an editorial about why it chose to describe Immigration and Customs Enforcement detentions as “abductions” in its news coverage. I encourage you to read a pretty well thought out and supported rationale. But it does bring up something that I think all media outlets struggled with throughout 2025.

In the media, the usual presumption is we want to try to treat everyone fairly. But how does want report on something that seems to be pretty blatant and increasingly well-documented violations of due process and federal law while still trying to be fair? How do we report on statements from the Department of Homeland Security that are repeatedly shown to be inaccurate and untrustworthy?

It is still a tricky terrain a lot of media outlets are trying to navigate, but I think McKinley Park News took the right tact by outlining the policy and clearly explaining why. Even if the readers disagree, at least they will understand where the decision comes from.

A continuing education opportunity

Windy City Times, an iconic Chicago LGBTQ+ media outlet, is offering a six-week journalism course on how to do community reporting. The course starts Jan. 2, 2026, and not only is it free to the six people who are selected for it, but it comes with a $400 stipend.

Six participants will be selected, and everyone will be notified of their application status by mid-January.

This program is open to anyone interested in telling local news stories serving their communities. This could be people interested in entering the field, citizen journalists, college students or early-career journalists.

Classes will be held at a Downtown location every Saturday from Feb. 14-March 21 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Now, as someone who didn’t major in journalism (in fact, I only took one journalism course at my local community college) and learned a lot by doing, and know plenty of great journalists who didn’t enter the field in the “conventional” ways, I am always skeptical of the idea that journalism education is all that necessary. But I do think there is value in something like this. Sure, you can learn by doing, through lots of trial or error, but this would let you get a lot of the fundamentals out of the way and you you’ll get paid for it.

I definitely would’ve applied if something like that was available back in 2011.

Besides, as my own story shows, breaking into the field is a big part of the battle. I’m all for anything that would get new and aspiring journalists an edge.

So if you are interested, or know someone who is interested, here is where you can apply.

Job Opportunities

• Chicago Public Media is hiring an immigration reporter who would, the best I can determine from the description, will work for both WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times. The reporter will “write and report a mix of daily, feature and enterprise stories examining immigration policy, enforcement and Chicago’s diverse immigrant communities.” The pay range is $60,000 to $66,000 a year, and this is a three-year, grant-funded position. For more information, and to apply, click here.

• Chicago Public Media is also hiring a Springfield reporter, and this job description explicitly describes it as shared WBEZ/Sun-Times position. The reporter will “provide daily news and enterprise feature work for the nine NPR member stations across Illinois as part of Illinois Public Radio.” The reporter will be based in Springfield and work from the Capitol, but they will “occasionally spend time reporting from Chicago and collaborating with other reporters.” Pay range is $61,200 to $67,500 per year. For more information and to apply, click here.

• Shaw Media, of Dixon, IL, is hiring a news reporter for Mendota Reporter, a Mendota, IL weekly newspaper it brought from the wreckage of News Media Corporation’s abrupt closure last summer. The company is looking for a reporter who “can develop local sources and cover a range of local news stories, from business to politics to breaking news. Enterprise work is a priority, balancing day-to-day coverage with stories that zoom out to show the big picture.” So, basically, regular community reporter stuff. For more information and to apply, click here.

• Shaw Media is also hiring a reporter for its newspapers in Sterling, IL and Dixon, IL. Same sort of community journalism reporting as for Mendota Reporter, but since Shaw Media has over a century of presence in those communities, the dynamic is a bit different. For more information and to apply, click here.

• The Times of Northwest Indiana is hiring a public safety and breaking news reporter. The paper historically had two public safety reporters (who also did some breaking news stuff), one per county in their primary coverage area. This beat seems region-wide. Apply at the link above.

• Kenosha News, of Kenosha, Wis., is hiring a staff reporter whose beat “will emphasize education and general assignment news and feature reporting.” The posting notes that “applicants with some newspaper experience are preferred, but recent graduates in journalism are welcome to apply. Apply at the link.

• The Real Deal real estate online news network (and a national magazine) is hiring a staff reporter. It seems to be moving away from one reporter per city approach it used last time I applied back in 2023. This reporter will be expected to do articles covering various cities, and contribute larger pieces to a national magazine. The reporter will also be asked to “occasionally contribute or collaborate on special reporting projects, typically investigative work or deeply researched features.” Apply at the link.

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