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The letter showed up in 47th Ward mailboxes on a Tuesday in March, wedged between a Jewel flyer and a property tax reassessment. City letterhead. Subject line: “Zoning Notification — Proposed Adjustment.” First paragraph thanked residents for their “continued engagement Continue reading How to Read a City Hall Press Release Like It’s Trying to Trick You
You can set your watch by it. A national outlet swoops into Chicago, spends 72 hours in Englewood or Austin, grabs a few interviews, films the most battered block they can find, and files a story that paints the entire Continue reading The Problem With National Media Parachuting Into Chicago
You can set your watch by it. Something happens hereâa spike in shootings, a mayorâs stumble, a trial that makes cable-news producers sit upâand within 48 hours the satellite trucks are wedged onto Lower Wacker. A correspondent nobodyâs seen before Continue reading When National Media Drop In, Chicago Gets a HeadlineâNot the Story
I’ve been covering Chicago for over two decades, and I can tell you the exact moment a national news crew lands at O’Hare. The phones start buzzing with calls from producers who’ve never set foot south of Roosevelt Road, asking Continue reading The Problem With National Media Parachuting Into Chicago Stories
You can feel it before you see it. The sudden fleet of rental sedans with out-of-state plates. The camera crews setting up tripods on corners that haven’t seen a news van in a decade. The reporters standing in Austin or Continue reading When National Media Parachutes Into Chicago: A Street-Level Autopsy
You’ve seen this movie before. A national outlet decides it’s time for a “Chicago story,” so they send a crew or a columnist to the city for a long weekend. They land at O’Hare, check into a downtown hotel, and Continue reading The Parachute Press: When National Media Gets Chicago Wrong
You can set your watch by it. A shooting spikes in Englewood, a politician gets indicted at City Hall, or the temperature plunges so low the lake looks like a frozen apocalypse on the evening news. Suddenly, the satellite trucks Continue reading When the National Press Drops In: The Hollow Spectacle of Outsider Journalism in Chicago
You can always tell when a national news crew has touched down in Chicago. They set up on a corner in Englewood or Austin, camera pointed at a boarded-up building, reporter’s face locked in that practiced mix of concern and Continue reading When National Media Drop In: How Outsiders Keep Getting Chicago Wrong
I’ve lived in Chicago my whole life. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the stuff that makes you shake your head. But nothing burns me up more than watching a national news crew drop into my city, spend a Continue reading Stop Parachuting Into Chicago: Why National News Keeps Getting It Wrong
When the National Press Lands in Our Neighborhoods I’ve lived in Chicago my whole life. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the stuff that makes you shake your head. And I’ve seen the national media swoop in like seagulls Continue reading Why National Media Should Stop Dropping Into Chicago Like It’s a Crime Scene