Sara Cooper, a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, joined TCR’s newsroom team in June. Her investigative reporting will enhance TCR’s coverage of environmental justice and climate issues, as well as legal justice reform.
This June, The Chicago Reporter introduced a new college credit practicum to train early-career journalists to investigate community issues affecting Chicagoans. Northwestern University Medill graduate student Sara Cooper has been selected as the program’s inaugural reporting intern.
The internship program upholds The Chicago Reporter’s 53-year history of investigating race, poverty and social inequality, and establishes new training pathways for early-career journalists who want to focus on community-based reporting.
“This program demonstrates a commitment to developing investigative journalism professionals,” stated Dr. Ebony Only, Interim Publisher of The Chicago Reporter. “The organization dedicates itself to developing reporters who combine professional reporting abilities with community service through investigative journalism.”
Cooper will use the research and reporting skills that she developed in Medill’s Health, Environment and Science specialization, and will contribute her advanced data analysis and presenting skills developed through years of working in the field of public relations.
“Sara’s strong writing skills and enthusiasm for learning about investigative journalism made her the ideal candidate for our internship program,” said Investigative Editor Katherine Schulder-Battis. “Through her time at TCR, Sara will join existing investigations and receive feedback on designing and pitching projects.”
The Chicago Reporter attracted Cooper because they offer investigative journalism training which exceeds her academic writing requirements.
“I want to be able to uncover genuinely new information, not just synthesize what I’ve been told from expert sources,” Cooper expressed. Her career transition from PR to journalism marks her decision to practice accountability reporting to confront powerful institutions.
“I can often feel beholden to sources, as if I owe anyone I’ve interviewed positive coverage in my reporting,” Cooper acknowledged from her past PR work. “To put it bluntly, I want to be able to offend with my reporting. If I am to produce pieces that have real impact, I have to be unafraid to call out the failures of institutions and the people who govern them.”
Prior to entering the field of journalism, Cooper attended Wellesley College, where she earned a psychology degree with visual arts as a second area of concentration. Her environmental and climate reporting work focuses on data analysis to identify patterns in health and environmental journalism as well as wildlife conservation and climate change.
“The more I’ve learned about data journalism, the more I’ve realized its essential role in investigative journalism,” according to Cooper. “There’s a wealth of information just sitting in unexamined datasets, especially in environmental and health reporting where so much data exists in our monitoring and medical systems.”
The reporting assignment Cooper plans for her internship period will investigate environmental injustice and industrial impact that steel mills created for Chicago’s South Side residents. “The steel that built Chicago was produced on the Southeast Side, and that this critical production has turned to poison is a powerful narrative,” she explained.
Cooper aims to establish that climate change impacts residents throughout the Midwest region. “It can be easy for climate change to feel like a distant issue,” she noted. “Through my reporting I hope readers understand that, even in Chicago, everyone is affected by environmental harms and related health risks.”
The internship program provides college and graduate students, as well as recent graduates, with a chance to work alongside experienced investigative staff at The Chicago Reporter while earning academic credit. The three-month newsroom experience seeks to foster leadership opportunities and a 360 view into editorial and publishing processes.
“Working with early-career reporters who share TCR’s values is a win-win: we get to work with the next generation of journalists who will shape our city, while providing hands-on learning and mentorship,” noted Schulder-Battis.
Since its inception in 1972 by civil rights activist John A. McDermott, The Chicago Reporter has received more than 30 journalism awards for its investigative reporting on racial and poverty issues. TCR maintains its position as a respected watchdog organization that investigates matters affecting Chicago’s diverse populations.
The Chicago Reporter runs its internship program as a key initiative to build diverse journalism voices while maintaining accountability reporting services for Chicago’s communities. Visit chicagoreporter.com to learn more about The Chicago Reporter and its internship opportunities.