The Chicago Bureau: Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare

  • Ferkenhoff, Eric Robert (PD/PI)

Project: Research project

Project Details

Description

The Chicago Bureau is a news website founded in June 2012 as an adjunct to a journalism course on Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare at Northwestern University’s Medill School taught by Assistant Professor Eric Ferkenhoff. TCB is part of an independent, Illinois nonprofit with a mission to train and mentor young journalists in covering important issues weighing on today's youth. We seek funding to finance the operational and editorial sides of TCB: This requires a re-positioning and redesign of the site to transition from an academic course setting to a more robust news environment. The nearly complete redesign will convert our site from one largely suited for occasional blogging to something more timely, deep and professional. The new design will better engage visitors through a variety of departments, more easily showcase multimedia and provide improved content management and search engine optimization. Expanded news coverage and analysis will call for a small staff and the recruitment of freelancers. Funds will also allow travel to cover hearings and votes of the Illinois legislature on youth-oriented policies and pay for travel to a limited number of key conferences as we look to create a sustainable model. Funding will additionally help design and implement a variety of specialized workshops in reporting, writing and multimedia for students and community groups engaged in youth issues. These might require more “modular” instructional units rather than “linear” and “incremental” types of instruction. Funds will assure our efforts, editorially and educationally, are effectively targeted via data collection and analysis. Already, we personally invest in marketing and planning, and programs could involve design and dissemination of market research. We are in need of funding for office space, office equipment and supplies, and the hiring, for example, of an office manager who will oversee day-to-day activities.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date11/1/1310/31/14

Funding

  • Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation (Award Letter 10/23/2013)

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