journalists
Karen Ackerman witter
Reporting for Illinois Times in Springfield
Karen Ackerman Witter started freelance writing after retiring from a 35-year career in Illinois State Government, which included 14 years as Associate Director of the Illinois State Museum, natural resources policy advisor to Governor Thompson and director of the Dept. of Energy and Natural Resources.
NICOLE Anderson Cobb, phd
Reporting for Smile Politely in Champaign-Urbana
Nicole Anderson Cobb, PhD, is a researcher, educator, activist, journalist, award-winning playwright and community volunteer. She grew up on Chicago’s Southeast Side in the Calumet Heights community.
CARLOS BALLESTEROS
Reporting for South Side Weekly in Chicago
Carlos Ballesteros is a journalist from Chicago. Starting in June 2020, Ballesteros joined Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom in Chicago, as a staff reporter covering the criminal justice system and immigration enforcement in the Midwest.
ERIC BERGER
Reporting for Riverfront Times in St. Louis, Missouri
Eric Berger is a journalist based in St. Louis. He has written for the Columbia Journalism Review, the Religion News Service, the Philadelphia Daily News, the Jerusalem Post, Vice and the Riverfront Times.
Mark BRABOY
Reporting for WBEZ in Chicago
Mark P. Braboy is an arts and entertainment and cannabis journalist/photographer from the Southeast side of Chicago. He graduated from Jackson State University with a B.A. in English and has contributed for nearly 20 publications such as VIBE, Pitchfork, Billboard, Chicago Sun-Times, The Triibe, The Chicago Reporter, and more.
OLIVIA CUNNINGHAM
Reporting for South Side Weekly in Chicago
Olivia Cunningham is a freelance writer and digital content producer. She graduated from DePaul University with a double B.A. in Journalism and Communications & Media.
ALEX GARY
Reporting for Rockford Register Star in Rockford
Alex Gary spent more than 22 years as a full-time journalist at newspapers in Beloit, Wisconsin, and Rockford, Illinois. He served as a reporter or editor in almost every subject matter, ranging from sports to crime, courts, government and education to business.
Breanna grow
Reporting for WCBU in Peoria
Breanna Grow is a 2015 graduate of the School of Communication at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, where she reported for the student paper, The Vidette. After earning her Bachelor of Science in journalism, Grow worked as a news assistant at The Pantagraph in Bloomington, Illinois.
Henry IZaguirre
Reporting for Reflejos in Chicagoland
Henry Izaguirre has been within the world of journalism and its various aspects since he started at WGN-TV in the early 90’s.
Taylor moore
Reporting for Chicago Magazine in Chicago
Taylor Moore is a writer and journalist living in Chicago. She writes about cities, architecture, development, politics, social justice, and arts and culture. Her reporting has been featured in VICE, CityLab, Jacobin, Chicago Magazine, Chicago Reader, South Side Weekly, Curbed Chicago, and elsewhere.
Brian munoz
Reporting for the Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale
Brian Munoz is a freelance multimedia journalist and visual storyteller based in southern Illinois. He is a recent graduate from Southern Illinois University Carbondale where he received his degree in journalism.
sarah nardi
Reporting for WGLT in Bloomington-Normal
Sarah Nardi is a journalist and writer from Chicago, Illinois. She has written extensively about arts and culture for publications in Chicago, New York, and California. Nardi spent four years as a cultural critic with the Chicago Reader, which is widely regarded as a pioneer among alternative weeklies. In 2013, her Reader story “Who does Brandon Baltzley think he is?” was nominated for a Peter Lisagor award for Best Features writing.
arionne nettles
Reporting for Chicago Reader in Chicago
Arionne Nettles is a lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. As a reporter and editor with experience in different mediums, her work often explores art’s cultural ties to issues such as mass incarceration and educational inequity. a new collaboration with NPR’s digital team and was the host of WBEZ’s first video interview series.
jonathan turner
Reporting for WVIK in Quad-Cities
Jonathan Turner has been a professional journalist for nearly 34 years, and has played piano for 50 years. He has experience writing for daily newspapers for 32 years and has expertise across a wide range of subject areas, including government, politics, education, the arts, economic development, historic preservation, land use, business, and tourism.
kris vire
Reporting for Chicago Magazine in Chicago
Kris Vire is a journalist covering arts and culture in Chicago. Currently, he’s a contributing culture critic for Chicago magazine and a theater critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. Previously, Vire spent 11 years on staff at Time Out Chicago as theater editor and, later, as a senior editor covering theater, film, television, comedy and LGBTQ issues and events.
claire voon
Reporting for ARTnews in New York City
Claire Voon is a Chicago-based freelance journalist, arts writer, and critic. She previously worked at Chicago magazine, where she was an assistant editor for its digital platform. Prior to that she was a staff writer at the Brooklyn-based arts website Hyperallergic, where she wrote breaking news and arts criticism.