Journalism coursework

Below is a selection of my graduate and undergraduate coursework at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. All papers are in PDF format, readable with the Adobe Acrobat viewer.

Graduate coursework

"The Chicago Game"
See a screenshot. New Media Publishing Project, Spring 2002.
Also: Download the full requirements
Also: Download the final Powerpoint presentation (with business plan)

This team project comprised the capstone quarter of the new media track. Our professor and Tribune Interactive executives gave us the assignment of creating a journalism-driven, 18-35 focused and commerically viable Web site to complement an existing media powerhouse in a major city. Our project, a news- and community-driven online game, answered all the of requirements with its unique multi-media, multi-platform nature.

"Tribune Interactive and Oxygen: A Failure of Identity"
Download the paper. Content Management Systems, Winter 2002.

This paper addressed the problems of Tribune's Web publishing system: "All in all, Tribune Interactive appears to use Oxygen to put financial goals over those journalistic. Saving time and resources, human and otherwise, is the priority. Doing good local new media journalism comes in second. The papers' online identities are subordinate to the corporation's bottom line."

"Go Chicago"
Download the paper or view the cover. Magazine Editing, Winter 2002.

The assignment for this team project was to create a magazine concept and in-depth proposal that could fly in the real world. We came up with this weekly entertainment and lifestyle magazine for Chicago's large (and growing) 18-35 population. "Everybody gives you the basics. We give you the city and one instruction: Go."

1930 Ridge
Read the article. Magazine Writing, Winter 2002.

How a building gets built, one plan at a time.

Medill News Service articles
Read the articles. Reporting of Public Affairs, Fall 2001.

The news service, an organization of the Medill graduate program, syndicates stories daily to Chicago's major suburban papers.

"Evanston Doings"
Visit the Web site. New Media Storytelling, Fall 2001.

This team project was a prototype of an online guide for downtown Evanston, Ill. Viewers can explore the site by either a traditional menu-based approach or a non-traditional map-based approach. The dual navigation allows both locals and visitors quick access to information.

"Evanston's Extra Hour"
Visit the Web site. New Media Storytelling, Fall 2001.

This photo gallery was my midterm for the course. With the concept of time as the subject. I constructed the gallery chronologically and used a two-photo-per-page design to convey time passing at each location.

New Media Storytelling weblogs
Read the weblogs. New Media Storytelling, Fall 2001.

The weblogs included my thoughts on a wide variety of new media subjects, from infrastructure to holographic broadcast.

Undergraduate coursework

"Weighing the Costs of New Media"
Download the paper. Issues in Contemporary Journalism, Spring 2001.

This paper examined how charging subscription fees for mainstream media Web sites violates their institutional tradition and their public trust: "As the medium grows, the costs of subscriptions could lead to more elite audiences for news, leaving behind those who cannot afford to pay. In losing this section of the population, online journalism would hurt the news audience at large and the industry itself."

Teaching Newspaper internship
Read the articles. St. Petersburg Times, Winter 2001.

This work at the Times was part Medill's Teaching Newspaper internship program. I spent six weeks reporting in the downtown St. Petersburg newsroom, two weeks reporting at the Inverness bureau in Citrus County and a final two weeks copy-editing in St. Petersburg.

"Putting on the Rinse"
Visit the Web site. News and New Media, Fall 2000.

This team project looked at the state of the bathroom in America. Using a multimedia approach, we let professional bathroom experts and amateur bathroom enthusiasts have their say.