Windy City Times is proud to welcome six participants to its Spring 2025 Our Stories, Our Power cohort.
This paid, five-week seminar is designed to equip emerging storytellers with foundational reporting skills and connections within Chicago’s local media ecosystem. The program kicks off this Saturday.
This year’s cohort includes Gabriella Gladney, Kevin Jackson, Jinny Kim, Ivan Ortiz, Reyna Ortiz and Chijioke “Chi” Williams. It’s a passionate and diverse group representing a wide range of backgrounds in race, ethnicity, gender, age and storytelling experience.
Throughout the program, participants will receive hands-on training in key journalism practices, including story pitching, sourcing and interviewing, the basics of podcasting, photojournalism fundamentals, writing and social media strategies. The course is specifically designed to lower the barriers for entry for new and community-based reporters—especially those from BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented communities.
By the end of the seminar, each participant will have produced a publishable story to appear in Windy City Times, E3 Radio or one of our local news partners.
“It’s going to be an incredible five weeks of learning, growth and real-world experience. Investing in the next generation is a vital part of the work and I’m grateful to be part of their journey,” said Anna DeShawn, founder of E3 Radio and co-leader of the course.
The Our Stories, Our Power course is supported by a grant Windy City Times received from Press Forward National, a funder collaborative led by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that is dedicated to strengthening and sustaining local news.
“We’re so grateful to this support as we build on Windy City Times’ mission of uplifting underrepresented voices in news and equipping communities with the education needed to effectively tell their own stories,” said Jake Wittich, managing editor of Windy City Times and program co-leader.