INTERVIEW: Chicago Reporter Interim Publisher Laura Washington And Interim Editor Rui Kaneya

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 18, 2013 9:20PM

Since its founding in July 1972 the Chicago Reporter has maintained a steadfast commitment to reporting on stories regarding social justice, poverty and race in Chicago. The latest issue of the Reporter also serves as a look back at its mission since the late John McDermott founded the magazine. McDermott served as editor and publisher of the Reporter from its founding until 1985 and the magazine won over 30 journalism awards during his stewardship. (McDermott passed away in 1996 after a long battle with leukemia.) As the city has struggled to meet the needs of its citizenry in the 21st century, the Reporter has been there every step of the way, casting light on stories such as CHA vacancies, immigration rights, prison reform and equitable distribution of city services and resources. As part of the Community Renewal Society (which also publishes Catalyst Chicago), the Reporter has been mining its brand of non-profit funded, advocacy journalism for decades before think tanks like Media Matters for America and Think Progress made it en vogue.

Chicagoist sat down earlier this week with Reporter interim publisher Laura Washington and interim editor Rui Kaneya about the magazine's history; how they've adapted to the Internet era to meet the demands of their readership; why there's still a need for their style of reporting; and upcoming stories they're working on.

Chicagoist: After 40 years, how well-positioned do you feel the Reporter to continue its mission?

Laura Washington: Well, 40 years is a long time and I think there's been significant progress on race. If you look at the presidential campaign and the discussion on Barack Obama and what he has and hasn't done, we've still got a long way to go. So, I think the story is much more complicated, much more nuanced than it ever was, and there's still a need for a publication like this. Especially one that digs deep and lokos for the story behind the story.

C: That's especially true in a city like Chicago, where the segregation is as pronounced now as it was when the Reporter started.

LW: I think many experts will say there hasn't been much progress on segregation in the past 40 years.

C: Are you still finding the funding for your reporting to be as much a struggle as the topics you cover?

Rui Kaneya: That's always going to be a battle, when you're a non-profit. But the outside world has changed, to some extent. Our goal was to dig into some social justice issues in an investigative way. We still do that, but with all the changes happening with newspapers these days—cutting back to bare bones staffs—there aren't the resources available to commit in depth to topics like what we cover.

C: Do you think the focus on social justice, poverty and racial issues gives you an advantage other newspapers don't have?

RK: Maybe some newspapers use it as an excuse to not cover it. But they have to sell the paper. We don't have that worry. Where we worry about id finding the funding and grants that allow us to do our jobs. We aren't receiving the funding we did a few years back, but I think there's a good case to be made on our behalf that this is the the type of journalism that needs to be kept alive.

C: How has the rise of online media, with it's immediate availability and dissemination, changed your approach to reporting these days?

LW: I would back up a bit before discussing online media by mentioning the onslaught of non-profit media, which was preceded by the Reporter; we've been doing this for 40 years and non-profit journalism is depicted as this new hot thing now. 30 years ago, I couldn't get into the doors of these funders. They would say, "we don't fund journalism." Now they all want to fund projects. For me, the new media is an advantage for all journalists, especially content-driven journalists like the Reporter. the data and information is everywhere now and we don't have to go digging through City Hall's archives for the information we want. It makes our reporting a lot richer and easier than when we were digging through reams of reports.

C: Have city initiatives like the Open Data Portal contributed to that at all?

RK: It has somewhat, but we haven't dug much into it. We have our data they provide already, but we hope those things, as they become more advanced, make it easier to obtain the documents we're looking for, But there is a ways to go. Digital media also gives us access to a wider audience than traditional media. Thing like printing and marketing costs are extra issues we have to deal with.

C: Is your readership more engaged online as opposed to those who stick to the print model?

RK: I think so, but that's just by nature of the format. There's also much more regarding online content that we can explore. The fact we can go on social media and engage with readers is kind of mind-blowing.

LW: We used to have to beg readers to write letters to us. We had a letters section in the old versions of the Reporter and would have to encourage people who called us to congratulate us on a story to write in. Now we only have to post online and generate comments. We're currently working on a digital plan that's funded by the Open Society Foundation that will hopefully dramatically expand our web presence.

C: Given that we're now slowly starting to rebound economically, how has that affected your funding from foundations and endowments?

LW: there was a retrenching two or three years ago that came directly out of the 2008 recession where we lost a couple of funders and others had to cut back on the sizes of their grants. But we were able to pick up new, national funders like Ford and the Open Society Foundation. Before that, we had trouble finding funding outside Chicago. Our internet presence has allowed us to make the case to them that our reach extends beyond the city.

C: Laura, you've been involved with the Reporter for a long time. Looking back with this special issue, are there stories that stand out as examples of how the Reporter's coverage has effected positive change in the city?

LW: The special issue looks at five or six of those stories. Early on we focused on city services and whether they were equitably distributed. We've written stories on the Fire Department, the Park District, and some of those stories are reviewed in here. These are the stories that are our bread and butter.

C: Is there a plan in place to remove the "interim" tags from your jobs?

LW: This is my third time here. I came back a couple months ago to run the place until we find a new publisher. Rui's role will be?

RK: I don't know. Right now I'm running the day-to-day operations.

(To Washington) You used to be Harold Washington's deputy press secretary, which gives you a unique perspective to the other side of the bar regarding reporting. How has being there helped you as a journalist and a publisher?

LW: It was an invaluable experience and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see where the decisions were being made in government how those decisions are made. I think we as journalists have presumptions about the "big bad" government officials who don't want to give us information. Like everything else, I learned things are more complicated that what they appear.

C: At the risk of this sounding like a loaded question: Do you think the way we approach politicians is different now versus then?

LW: I think, with Rahm Emanuel, we aren't doing a lot of approaching. We're doing a lot of receiving of information. I know I and others who cover the mayor are very frustrated with the lack of conversation that goes on. It's government and media strategy by dictation and we haven't figured out a way to get around that.

Emanuel is very good in that Washington/White House way of orchestrating everything to a ""T" and having us pursue stories that don't matter while he does his thing. They're brilliant at picking apart a reporter's story, and that has a chilling effect on some. It slows some of them down in terms of their reporting.

C: Are there stories in the pipeline the Reporter's readers, and ours, should look forward to reading?

RK: Without giving everything away, we have a few in the works. The next issue will be on criminal justice. Speaking in general terms, we are looking at how the prison industrial complex affects us in Chicago, from a cost perspective and other angles. It will be an interesting report for folks interested in alternative sentencing measures. We're also looking at how public housing vouchers work, based on location.