FIVE NEW BLOGGERS DEBUT ON WBEZ.ORG VETERAN NEWS REPORTER CHARLIE MEYERSON JOINS TEAM OF BLOGGERS COVERING DIVERSE TOPICS INCLUDING POP CULTURE, THE ENVIRONMENT AND LGBTQ LIFE
Veteran newsman Charlie Meyerson debuted as a daily contributor on WBEZ.org. Meyerson – a journalism professor and lecturer – will write WBEZ.org’s daily news blog. The award-winning journalist joins a team of four new recruits, continuing the web site’s role as an independent news source. New bloggers Britt Julious, Leah Pickett, Nico Lang and Chris Bentley will be covering pop culture, LGBTQ issues and the environment for WBEZ.ORG (www.wbez.org/blogs) and on-air during midday programming.
“We are thrilled to add this new crop of bloggers to our existing roster,” says Tim Akimoff, Digital Content Editor at WBEZ Chicago. “Charlie is a seasoned Chicago news veteran who brings valuable experience to our team. And Leah, Britt, Nico and Chris are all talented young writers – all in their mid-20s – who will bring fresh perspectives to our site. WBEZ is committed to showcasing diverse voices on the air and online, and I think our audience will see that reflected in this group of contributors.”
WBEZ.ORG’s new “voices”:
Charlie Meyerson has delivered Chicago’s news for more than 30 years — on air, online and in print, including: at the progressive rock station, WXRT-FM 93.1; at pioneering “smooth jazz” station WNUA-FM 95.5; at Tribune Co., as senior producer and Daywatch columnist at chicagotribune.com; and as news director at WGN-AM 720; and, until July 2012, as Chicago bureau chief for FM News Chicago and New York, covering government, politics, culture and technology. Meyerson — winner of dozens of journalism awards, including a national UPI award for investigative reporting — is an adjunct professor of journalism at Roosevelt University and an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Charlie will take over WBEZ.ORG‘s daily news blog (formerly called “Punching up the News”). www.wbez.org/blogs/charlie-
In addition to blogging about popular culture for WBEZ.ORG, writer Britt Julious serves as a Senior Editor of the high/low literary website This Recording, and contributes to local, national and international publications including Gapers Block, Buzzfeed and Rhizome. She has also written for Time Out Chicago, the Chicago Tribune and Design Bureau. In 2012 the Chicago Reader named Julious the city’s “Best Local Writer Who Excels at Social Media” on account of her personal Tumblr blog, Britticisms, which has more than 70,000 followers, and her eclectic Twitter account. Julious currently lives in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood. Britt will write weekly essays for WBEZ.org and will be the first to experiment with blogging largely on WBEZ’s Tumblr site. www.wbez.org/blogs/britt-
Newcomer Leah Pickett was born in Dallas, Tex., but years of watching Siskel & Ebert inspired her to move to Chicago to study film at Columbia College. In addition to blogging about popular culture for WBEZ.org, Pickett is film critic for the music webzine Pop’stache and a freelance contributor to the dining section of the Chicago Tribune. www.wbez.org/
Nico Lang will blog about Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans/Queer life in Chicago. Lang is the co-creator of the blog network In Our Words, a frequent contributor to Thought Catalog and The Huffington Post and a film columnist for HEAVEMedia. His work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The L.A. Times, The Guardian, IndieWire, The New Gay and on his mother’s refrigerator. He hosts Broad Shoulders, a monthly podcast for Chicago’s live literary community, and talks about nerd stuff on another weekly podcast called Pod People. In addition to his work in media, Lang previously served as the Associate Director of LGBTQ advocacy group The Civil Rights Agenda and co-founded Chicago’s Queer Intercollegiate Alliance as a graduate student in DePaul University’s Media & Cinema Studies program. www.wbez.org/blogs/
Chris Bentley is a Chicago-based writer, photographer and filmmaker who will blog about the environment. Bentley’s work has appeared in The New York Times‘ Green blog, Next American City, Science Daily, New Scientist, The Architect’s Newspaper, Chicagoist and Time Out Chicago. Bentley was a Comer Scholar for Climate Change Reporting at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and an ISEN Cluster Fellow studying sustainability and energy. He has a BS in Natural Resources from Cornell University. www.wbez.org/
Chicago Public Media, an institution that creates award-winning content for people seeking to learn more about the issues and ideas that affect our community, our nation, and our world. Chicago Public Media produces programs such as This American Life, Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! (a co-production with NPR), Sound Opinions, The Morning Shift, The Afternoon Shift, Worldview, and Radio M. Chicago Public Media operates WBEZ 91.5FM, one of the country’s premier public radio stations,and Vocalo 89.5 FM, a next generation service that seeks to expand the reach of public media. For more information, visit www.wbez.org.