‘Glamping’ with race fans in the infield at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

My latest assignment was published this morning: A story about ‘Glamping,’ the amalgam of Glamor and Camping, which, in this case, means a tent with a bed and sheets. Have a look.  As I hung out among the residents of the 70 tents, I met some very fun, and funny, folks. And watched a LOT …

‘Glamping’ with race fans in the infield at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Read More »

Join me February 27 for Medill Talks: Where Great Ideas Take the Lede

If you’re in Chicago/Evanston on February 27th, please join me and several other Medill colleagues for an evening of ideas and fun thinking about life, the universe and journalism. (BTW, for those of you not in the news world, lede is a word for the lead paragraph or line in a story. It’s spelled that …

Join me February 27 for Medill Talks: Where Great Ideas Take the Lede Read More »

Maintaining a Classical Music Miracle in Cleveland (NYTimes.com)

As orchestras see audiences age and dwindle in size, the Cleveland Orchestra is trying to attract the youngest audience of any in America by its 100th birthday in 2018. In this video piece for NYTimes.com, we meet players, patrons and the orchestra’s music director Franz Welser-Möst, who are all united to bring more young people …

Maintaining a Classical Music Miracle in Cleveland (NYTimes.com) Read More »

I know this is late, but please give a round of applause for these fine student films

I’m running behind on everything these days, so forgive me for not posting this sooner. On December 11 at the Forum in the McCormick Tribune Center at Northwestern, three student projects made in my documentary class this past quarter, premiered to a full house. It was an amazing evening and I couldn’t be prouder of …

I know this is late, but please give a round of applause for these fine student films Read More »

“Arab Idol” winner Mohammed Assaf tours USA, including Chicago

Last Friday night, I helped New York Times video journalist Reem Makhoul on her story about Mohammed Assaf, a former wedding singer from Gaza who went on to win Arab Idol, and take the Arab world by storm. Now he’s touring America, wowing fans here. Hundreds of those fans (many of them Palestinian-Americans) crowded into …

“Arab Idol” winner Mohammed Assaf tours USA, including Chicago Read More »

Why I once learned the Gettysburg Address by heart, and why I’m doing it again today

Two score and seventeen months ago, David Clair and I boarded a COD (carrier onboard delivery) flight from San Diego to reach the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. It was a couple of weeks before the 200th birthday of the ship’s namesake, and I had asked a selection of the crew to read aloud the …

Why I once learned the Gettysburg Address by heart, and why I’m doing it again today Read More »