Police watch protesters on the University of Chicago campus. Photo by Sydney Combs. (sydneycombs.com) I set up a "Patreon" page this week. I'm telling my family, friends, and supporters around the country to check it out. I hope you do, too. It allows you to set up a small recurring monthly contribution to my work. … Continue reading Set up a tiny monthly contribution to join in my stories and learn the craft
journalism
Serious work a-brewing
You heard it here first: a new journalism outlet in Chicago, in collaboration with... CivicLab is a new-ish space in the West Loop for folks who want to innovate in the public sphere--their tagline was recently changed to "Making Democracy." As I understand it—and this is a gross over-simplification—they're piggy-backing on the makerspace/hackerspace movement to … Continue reading Serious work a-brewing
Chicago: the greenest city *snicker*
Based on the frequency of news coverage about polluted soil or buildings in Chicago, you might think there really isn't much of that here. After all, only a single EPA National Priorities List site exists in Chicago. But it was tough to get listed because the city would rather not have those blemishes on its … Continue reading Chicago: the greenest city *snicker*
Green campaign at my former school
A prefab modular home with LEED Platinum certification. Chicago should have its first Platinum-certified prefab residence in 2011. (Flickr photo from Heather Lucille. CC.) Here are some links to my 2009 project to reduce Cedarville University's environmental impact. I was collaborating with school administration to implement the project when I moved to Chicago to attend … Continue reading Green campaign at my former school
Industry turmoil
The Chicago Tribune sports the largest newsroom in the midwest, according to its advertising campaign. I chuckle at that choice. I wonder how many other journalists do, too. (CC Flickr photo from Alex Barth) When I turned to the journalism field for my career, the thought that most plagued me was this: generally, to make … Continue reading Industry turmoil
Writing for interaction
Spotted a story yesterday about the rise of (and grand question about) the cupcake boutique on the New York Times site, and I had to check it out. I'm sharing it with you not just because cupcakes generate more saliva than I have fluid in my body, but because there's a really interesting paragraph that … Continue reading Writing for interaction
Best of Twitter series 1: Personal
I tweet a lot more than I write on here, and I hate to leave you as-yet-Twitter-shunners hanging. So much that I share in Twitter might be useful to you, and I can't stand that you'll never see it. The Twitter broadcast on the left sidebar is only so useful, because inevitably you miss 80-90 … Continue reading Best of Twitter series 1: Personal
Brandon Smith 