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As newspapers die, small non-profit news sites rise in the Midwest

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Dana James, a former Des Moines Register reporter, started Black Iowa News at the start of the pandemic. Here, she is using her phone to record an interview for a future story.
  • Photo: Northwestern/Medill School of Journalism

URBANA – With newspapers on the decline in Illinois, you may be wondering where to get quality news about communities across the Midwest. During the week of October 25-29, 2021, Illinois Public Media is asking “Who’s In Charge of The News?” 

In June, students at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism published articles and videos called How Creative Thinkers Are Reinventing Local News In The Midwest.

Two people connected to that project: Medill graduate journalism professor Craig Duff and former student Melody Hoffman Guernsey talked with Illinois Newsroom’s Reginald Hardwick about two of these news outlets. Guernesey graduated after producing the video earlier this year. She is now a tv reporter in Wisconsin. 

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Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM