ABOUT

Thank you for your interest in the Medill Club of Greater New York. With an estimated 1,000 Medill alums in the Greater New York area, we are one of the most active Northwestern alumni groups in the nation, with a wide range of professional-oriented events, social activities and many things that are a mixture of the two! In recent years, our members have attended speeches by Steven Brill, founder and editor of Brill's Content; Tina Rosenberg, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist; Reese Schonfeld, one of the founders of CNN; as well as many other media luminaries.

 

Club members also attended a jam-packed panel discussion on terrorism media coverage in February 2002, not long after the World Trade Center attacks, as well as an April 2003 panel on Iraq war coverage which was held less than four weeks after the war's launch. Other sell-out panel discussions each quarter cover a gamut of pertinent topics - everything from the challenges of covering the media beat, to the "cushy" jobs of cultural critics, to the joys and frustrations of being a sex columnist, to the perils of celebrity journalism.

To help you further your own career, we offer a range of professional events, led by experts in the field. Recent workshops have focused on magazine start-ups, the changing world of brands and brand management, freelancing, getting a book published, travel writing and life after journalism.

 

SOCIAL EVENTS

But the club isn't all business - we also know how to socialize. Fellow Medillians explore the city on walking tours of New York neighborhoods, and we make an annual trek to one of the local stadiums to watch a Chicago team play New York rivals. Club members meet regularly for happy hours, which are held quarterly in different corners of the city, often with the local Kellogg Club and the NU Entertainment Alliance club for alums in the performing arts.

 

VOLUNTEER/COMMUNITY SERVICE EVENTS

For the civic-minded, we participate in a variety of volunteer projects around New York that are both rewarding and fun. Medill Club members have tutored schoolchildren in journalism concepts, cleaned up parks and schools around the city, served refreshments to workers at the World Trade Center site and much more.

 

MENTORING PROGRAM

The Club also has a new mentoring program that matches new graduates in the New York area with alums who've been out for a while, or matches mid-career Club members with seasoned pros. This program also provides current students participating in Medill's Journalism Residency program with an introduction to media circles during their quarter here.

 

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

No matter what you're interested in doing, the Club welcomes your involvement. From planning and running events like those mentioned above, to writing stories or taking pictures for the Club's newsletter, to working on our many marketing initiatives, to compiling the annual membership directory...even stuffing envelopes at Starbucks! They're all great ways to meet new people (especially if you're relatively new to the area), engage in lifelong learning and become immersed in media issues outside your workplace.

 

MEMBERSHIP
Dues for club membership are $25 per year. As a member of the Medill Club, you get access to limited-seating, member-only events; the opportunity to invite your colleagues, family or friends to member-only events; significant discounts to events that have a fee (e.g., $12 instead of $18 for a walking tour); a quarterly newsletter and periodic mailings; a Club directory useful for contacts in networking and story development; e-mail discussion groups for exchanging news, opinions, story ideas and other career info; opportunities to meet other Medill and NU alums living in the New York area; and more.

 

 

IDEAS?
Realizing that most of us are very busy and have diverse interests, our goal is to offer something for everyone. We always welcome suggestions for new activities. If you are interested in helping out, please let us know on your membership form.

 

 

 

A New Muse for Hard News:
Nonprofit Model Inspires Struggling Media Groups

Editors and philanthropists are joining together to develop a new nonprofit business model as media groups struggle to stay viable in the face of job cuts, declining ad revenues, free Internet content and shareholder discontent.

Come join us for a lively panel talk on the pros and cons of starting up philanthropy-driven newsrooms.

Our panel moderator is Paul Steiger, former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and now editor-in-chief of the nonprofit ProPublica investigative journalism venture funded by a $10 million annual grant from the Sandler Foundation. Other panelists are William Abrams, president of the microfinance nonprofit Trickle Up and former journalist with The New York Times, ABC News and The Wall Street Journal; Kiran Rijhsinghani, a media analyst with the George Weiss Associates hedge fund; and Dan Roth, senior writer of Wired magazine.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

7:00 - 7:30 p.m. Chat/Appetizers
7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Panel
8:30 - 9:00 p.m. Q&A

The Loft at The Players Theatre
115 MacDougal Street
New York, NY 10012

Advance Online Registration
Club Members: $5.00
Non-Members & Guests: $10.00
Registration Deadline: Monday, July 21, 2008
Go here to register: http://www.alumni.northwestern.edu/clubs/calendar.html?Event=1610

At the Door Registration
Club Members: $10.00
Non-Members & Guests: $15.00

Subway:
1 to Christopher Street or
A/B/C/D/E/F/V to West 4th Street at Washington Square

Contact: Joyce Hanson
Email: joyce_e_hanson@hotmail.com
Phone: 646-509-1091