Press Forward announced Chicago school board race coverage grants, Reader hires publisher and IPA convention preview
Also, new hires, more award winners and finalists, CherryRoad Media expands Illinois footprint, and journalism grants, events and jobs galore
Good morning, readers and subscribers.
Even with what may be last week’s biggest news - Alden/Tribune Publishing’s impending acquisition of the Daily Herald - in a separate post, last week has been a busy week for media news big and small. I had no choice but to shift some of the less time-sensitive stuff to the next post, to keep this post from getting too long.
Speaking of things that don’t quite fit into this post, Chicago Media Journal Instagram account has been getting new followers, mostly thanks to my Mouse Arts and Letters Social Club. I’m of the belief that social media accounts shouldn’t be just links to posts, which is why I post some odds and ends over there.
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Press Forward Chicago announces grants for Chicago Board of Education 2026 election coverage
You may recall that, a few months ago, Press Forward Chicago sent out a Request for Proposals for Chicago newsrooms looking for funding to cover this fall’s Chicago Board of Education election. Since this is the first time the city school board will be fully elected, this is a big deal. There is a caveat - all the coverage is being coordinated through Chalkbeat Chicago.
Last Monday, Press Forward Chicago announced who got the grants. There is $660,000 in funding in total. Fittingly, given that it’s going to coordinate the coverage, Clalkbeat is getting $225,000, or approximately 34% of the overall funding. The rest of the grantees are getting either $40,000 or $15,000.
I won’t recap every single grantee, but there are a few things that stand out. Bear in mind that outlets had to submit proposals to be considered, and we don’t know which newsrooms didn’t bother in the first place, and which were rejected.
Board Rule, an online outlets explicitly created to chronicle the shift from fully appointed to fully elected board, is one of the $40,000 grantees. There is some non-English language newsrooms - Spanish-language La Raza newspaper and Chinatown Spotlight, which is published in either Mandarin or Cantonese (I’m legitimately not sure, but I’ve done some coverage of Chinatown when which language materials are presented it was a bit of a hot-button issue). There is going to be some audio coverage via WBEZ and Lumpen Radio, out of all things. Block Club got funding to do some neighborhood-level coverage.
What is also interesting - and, again, I have no idea how much of it is the product of who applied and how much of it is Press Foward’s decision - but there seems to be emphasis toward providing local coverage on the South and West Sides, with local outlets mostly coming from those parts of the city. Local North Side and Far Northwest Side outlets are notable in their absence. So is the lack of any Polish-language outlets.
The list of grantees also throws the spotlight on a larger issue that goes far beyond this project. While it is good to have local outlets like The Culture, Hyde Park Herald, South Side Weekly and 15 West involved, it occurs to me that there are whole chunks of Chicago that just don’t have those kinds of local news outlets, and don’t get consistent coverage from larger outlets like Block Club. East Side and Hegewisch, which I would argue haven’t had good local media coverage since Southeast Chicago Observer closed in 2012 (though Hegewisch Times was a valiant attempt), don’t have anything, and those communities are all too often overlooked, because a lot of people don’t realize Chicago even has an East Side. Northwest Side neighborhoods like Montclare, Hermosa and Belmont-Cragin don’t have a local news outlets, either.
The unfortunate reality is that, while some parts of Chicago will get some good local coverage, others just won’t, because the outlets and the experience aren’t there.
I do hope that, if nothing else, outlets like Block Club La Raza, South Side Weekly and the Reader would use some of that money to at least some some stringers to do some local coverage.
We’ll see.
Chicago Reader hires publisher
Also on Monday, Chicago Reader announced that it hired Mailk Jackson, most recently the publisher and executive director of South Side Media Works, which owns South Side Weekly and the Hyde Park Herald. The alt-monthly haven’t had a publisher since Amber Nettles left in November 2025 to join EmpowerLocal as chief partnerships officer.
In an interview with the Reader, Jackson talked about having the staff’s back, and described his background as a journalist and an urban planner as assets.
Reaching audiences, directing sales, and honing a business strategy are all reliant on one’s understanding of their market and the interests within it. My background has nurtured a lens that enables me to understand the city, its trends, information needs, and its people’s habits.
Jackson talked about the power of print in creating a permanent snapshot of time, about the digital fatigue. But l found this bit particularly insightful:
There are still a significant number of people on the lower rungs of the economic ladder, in rural communities, and in Black and Brown neighborhoods without reliable access to the Internet. Print is the great equalizer of information equity.
Which does bring us to what has been the Reader’s well-known weakness, one that it has acknowledged and tried to address - it struggled to reach Black and Hispanic Chicagoans. Over the decades, there have been several newspapers that tried to be the Reader of the South Side, and I would argue that South Side Weekly has been the most successful attempt. From a sheer revenue/audience growth perspective, hiring someone who has supervised a South Side paper that covered a lot of communities the way the Reader sometimes struggled to, makes sense.
Jackson didn’t get too much into his future plans beyond saying that he will “personify the Reader and make it a part of the conversations Chicagoans have over coffee, dinner, and drinks,” and that he will “experiment further with print products and distribution, and test the role that physical space can play in helping us build deeper relationships with our audiences and emerging writers.” That second part can mean… a lot of things.
It is important to keep in mind that Jackson has a boss he must answer to - Noisy Creek founder and CEO Brady Walkinshaw. Lest we forget, Reader going monthly was a Noisy Creek mandate.
In the end, the real question may not be what Jackson wants to do, but what Walkinshaw wants to do with the Reader - and how much room Jackson would have to execute his vision within that framework.
Illinois Press Association announces some award recipients, convention speaker
On May 8, Illinois Press Association released an extended preview of its annual convention and awards. Bear in mind, readers and subscribers, that while Lisagor Awards is arguably the biggest Chicago area journalism award, IPA Awards are that for Illinois as a whole.
The winners of advertising and editorial awards are kept under lock and key until the day of - even the finalists are only released to individual newsrooms. But IPA could still talk about the panels, the dinner keynote speaker and service awards.
For those who’ve never been to the IPAs, by the time dinner rolls around, a lot of guests skedaddle, especially if they are coming from outside central Illinois. I have to wonder if IPA board going with Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey as a dinner keynote speaker - and a promise that he will take questions from the audience - is a way to entice people to stay.
Sam Fisher will receive the distinguished service award for his decades in various roles in Shaw Media and his four years as president and CEO of the Illinois Press Association. The convention preview describes Fisher as “a driving force in creating a successful nonprofit news organization that benefits Illinois newspapers and their communities” - an oddly opaque allusion to his role in the founding of Capitol News Illinois.
Fletcher Farrar, former owner and editor of Central Illinois Communications (which published Illinois Times, Springfield Business Journal and a few other publications before they transitioned to nonprofit) and current chair of said nonprofit’s new board, will receive the James C. Craven Freedom of the Press Award. The award honors people who demonstrated a “a lifelong commitment to the principles of a free and open press”
Tax advisor Larry Johnson will receive a Friend of Journalism Award for helping IPA member papers apply for recently created tax credits for hiring and retaining employees.
Tickets for the IPA Convention are on sale until the end of the day today.
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Journalism Bits and Bites
This was something I meant to post earlier, but it got lost in the shuffle. David Newbart, who, you may recall, has been helping with editing at Block Club Chicago while its executive editor and co-founder Stephanie Lulay is on maternity leave, announced on his LinkedIn page a little over two weeks ago that he’s been hired a more permanent senior editor. Given the sheer number of articles filed by staff reporters and freelancers, another dedicated editor is a good thing.
2026-2027 Report for America Corps member Aydali Campa Lopez will become an investigative reporter at the Investigative Project on Race and Equity effective this July. She currently serves as an environment justice and immigrant communities reporter at Borderless magazine.
Injustice Watch hired Katharine Keller as Injustice Watch’s director of development. She previously served as director of advancement and strategic partnerships at Forefront. “I’m thrilled to join Injustice Watch and help lead the continued growth of its fundraising and partnership efforts,” Keller was quoted as saying.
ProPublica won The American Society of Magazine Editors 2026 National Magazine Award in the Public Interest category for three stories they co-published with other outlets:
“Now That They’re Free,” published with The Texas Tribune, Alianza Rebelde Investiga and Cazadores de Fake News, by Perla Trevizo, Melissa Sanchez and Mica Rosenberg, ProPublica, Ronna Rísquez, Alianza Rebelde Investiga, and Adrián González, Cazadores de Fake News, July 30;
“‘I Lost Everything’: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime,” published with Block Club Chicago and FRONTLINE, by Melissa Sanchez, Jodi S. Cohen, T. Christian Miller, Sebastian Rotella and Mariam Elba, November 13;
“Status: Venezuelan,” directed by Mauricio Rodríguez Pons for FRONTLINE, December 10
Speaking of ProPublica, this year’s investigative editor training cohort includes Josh McGhee is the Chicago bureau chief of MindSite News.
Asian American Journalists Association’s 2026 Journalism Excellence Awards winners included Chicago winners. Esther Yoon-Ji Kang and Amy Qin won Excellence in Online/Digital Journalism, Data award for their WBEZ “Chicago rents are climbing fast. For many, there’s nowhere left to go” series (1/2/3).
CAN-TV public access channel earned three silver (1/2/3) and four bronze (1/2/3/4) awards at this year’s Telly Awards. Check out the CAN-TV Instagram page for more details.
The National Association of Black Journalists announced the 2026 Salute to Excellence Awards finalists, with 13 finalists coming from Chicago media outlets (mostly Chicago Sun-Times and/or WBEZ). You can see the complete list at this link, but I would be remiss not not at least mention that Lee Bey’s architecture column was a finalist in the Commentary/Essay category (larger newsroom subcategory). Winners will be announced at NABJ’s annual convention, which will be held Saturday, August 15, in Atlanta this year.
CherryRoad Media acquired its second Illinois newspaper - The Sentinel (of Illiopois, a village part-way between Springfield and Decatur). The ownership change will take effect on June 1. CherryRoad Media has been buying small town and rural newspapers all over the country (and occasionally launching new ones). The company has been putting emphasis on local news (while also consolidating and outsourcing some functions region-wide, for better or for worse), so only time will tell how this acquisition would affect the Sentinel - and whether CherryRoad will acquire more Illinois papers in the future.
Park Ridge City Council honored long-time Northwest Side/Northwest suburban Anne Lunde, who passed away on April 22, with a moment of silence at the start of its May 18 meeting.
Journalism resources
Emergency Mode for News will be awarding “a limited number of $1,000 stipends to individual journalists or newsrooms to help with emergency training, supply or planning needs.” Apply here by end of day June 1.
Society of Professional Journalists is accepting applications for First Amendment Forever Fund grants for project that promote press freedom and the public rights to know. The application deadline is June 15, and you can apply here.
Journalism Events
As always, you can read the event listings in chronological order here. Know a journalism event coming up? Let me know.
On Wednesday, May 27, Mouse Arts and Letters will host its monthly Citywide Newsroom. There will be a citywide pitch meeting/discussion at 1 p.m., and journalists are welcome to work there between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Then, at 7 p.m., it’s the club’s News Night featuring Illinois Answers’ Grace Hauck, Wired magazine senior writer Kate Knibbs, and Cam Rodriguez, who was hired as WBEZ data journalist in April.
On Friday, May 29, several Black professional organizations, including NABJ Chicago, are hosting a networking mixer at Hue Chicago restaurant, 67 E. Cermak Rd., at 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
On Saturday, May 30, Pilsen Community Books will host a panel discussion with editors and writers of Chicago-based Heatwave left-wing radical magazine. The panel will be held at 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Journalism Jobs
Aurora Beacon-News is hiring a full-time general assignment reporter. Experience with community news coverage and fluency in Spanish a plus. The wage is $19.23 an hour, plus benefits. Apply here.
U.S. Catholic magazine is hiring a full-time assistant editor. Must have 1-2 years of copy-editing and editorial experience. The editor will work in office two days a week and remotely three days a week. Salary starts at $40,000 a year, plus benefits. To apply, email the cover letter, resume and 2-3 writing clips here.
CAN-TV is hiring a production manager. Must have 3-5 years of production experience. Apply here.
NEWSWELL Chicago, which publishes Austin Weekly News, Forest Park Review, Riverside-Brookfield Landmark and Wednesday Journal (of Oak Park and River Forest) is hiring;
A full-time design and production associate, who will mostly handle ad and marketing design, but will also do some editorial design as well. 3-5+ years of experience in print production, advertising agency, or high-volume creative services environment is a plus. Pay is $20-$25 an hour, plus benefits. Apply here.
A part-time designer to help with the editorial design of the papers at least three days a week. The pay. is $20 an hour, plus benefits. Apply here.