Extended Steve Rhodes Resume 2021
- 1. Steve Rhodes____________________________________________ srhodes800@gmail.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Read Before Burning: This resume is expansive because it tells a compelling story: I’ve consistently led, excelled and created change throughout my career. I’ve also continually engaged with the larger issues facing the industry. Objective: To put my leadership, creativity, vision, knowledge, ethical clarity, and editing, reporting and writing skills to use in a forward-looking, fun, mission-driven digital news organization. Education: Northwestern University: • Self-designed, pioneering M.A. in newsroom management combining coursework from the Medill School of Journalism, the Kellogg Graduate School of Business, and the School of Communication. June 1993. Nicely complemented my on-campus work at the Newspaper Management Center, as noted below. • Master's Certificate in Telecommunications Science, Management and Policy. June 1993. That’s what “online” used to be called. University of Minnesota: • B.A. in Journalism. December 1989. A proud graduate of journalism school, which provided the foundation in history, law and ethics that every journalist needs, alongside coursework in political and investigative reporting that well- supplemented my work at The Minnesota Daily. Employment: 10/05 to current The Beachwood Media Company Editor, Publisher, Founder The editorial force behind The Beachwood Reporter, the world’s wittiest Chicago-centric online news and culture review (and the longest running new media property in the city; now well past its peak and in “suspended animation” due to costly tech and design issues; I know the site is broken). Featured in the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ publication The American Editor in “Tips From Eight Of The Best” – link removed due to deadness. Managed a volunteer staff of up to two dozen. Wrote a popular and unique daily home-page
- 2. column that was a mix of incisive media criticism and political/news commentary that was often funny, sometimes scathing and always true. Conceived of innovative features. Frequently appeared on TV, radio, media and political panels, and in college classrooms. Did killer podcasts. See also examples of posts such as “Rahm’s Rules” and “McCain vs. McRib.” Also during this time: • 07/20 to 10/20 Census Field Supervisor Effectively trained and managed a short-term team of 25 by quickly inspiring loyalty and productivity through building culture, engaging in transparency, improvising solutions together with humor and compassion, and taking disciplinary action when necessary firmly, fairly and clearly. • 03/08 to 12/09 Division Street Wrote, reported and curated a witty and incisive daily blog about “Chicago politics and its discontents” for NBC Chicago. The work was then expanded and moved to a relaunched NBCChicago website. 10/99 to 10/05 Chicago magazine Senior Editor Primarily responsible for the magazine's coverage of politics, media, and business — the “Clout Beat” — from untangling the downfall of a proposed politically-connected casino to provocative pieces such as “The Case Against Daley,” which was adapted into a chapter for The Mayors: The Chicago Political Tradition. Also created the popular online weekly media column Press Box (samples here.) See also: “And Now, A Few Words On Behalf Of The Worst Writer In Chicago,” “Ode To An Eyesore,” and “Why Chicago’s Spineless City Council Just Can’t Say No.” 11/94 to 10/99 Newsweek Special Correspondent A regular contributor to the nation, business, lifestyle and society sections, from the economics of Michael Jordan’s contract to bisexuality (which put me in the Congressional Record!); Chicago’s public schools strategy to its new art museum; tobacco marketing to Fargo’s unemployment rate. Sent on the road to follow Sammy Sosa’s 1998 home run chase; part of the Unabomber and Versace killer reporting teams.
- 3. 6/93 to 11/94 Chicago Tribune Reporting resident Spent 18 months as a staff writer, habitually landing on the front page with stories revealing political corruption, murders attributable, separately, to a failed domestic abuse and child welfare system, and in a change of pace from gritty urban reporting, features on the planet’s largest Twinkie factory, the enduring appeal of Chuck Taylor Hi-Tops, and a wildly popular minor league baseball team in St. Paul, Minn. Also spent time as the rewrite man, and was a lead political writer on Election Night ‘94. 1993 to 1995 Pure Magazine Features Editor Pure, a hip city start-up magazine, was described by Magazine Week as “the best thing out of Chicago since deep dish pizza.” Newsweek, Details, Factsheet Five and the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain also noticed. I helped create Pure’s voice, generated story ideas, recruited writers and edited stories. 1992 to 1993 Newspaper Management Center Staff Assistant Research projects included work on local news and Generation X for both NMC (later the Readership Institute) and Knight-Ridder. Knight-Ridder’s “Local News Ideabook” became an ongoing project, while “Managing Twentysomethings” was originally researched for a class and then presented to the Chicago Tribune at a panel session for senior executives. Also researched and helped author The Newsroom Brain: A Working Guide to Journalism Decisions; co- authored the case study “Managing Diversity” and a sat through innumerable mid- level and senior executive-level seminars. 1991 to 1992 The Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) Police Reporter Made inroads with previously ignored minority communities, uncovered paramedics who falsified training documents for annual recertification, and fought to reorganize police coverage, resulting in public inspection of police reports for the first time in the paper's history.
- 4. 1989 to 1991 The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.) Police Reporter, Sunday Writer Uncovered a wildly unconstitutional sheriff's office drug sting that started with Pablo Escobar and ended with deputies intentionally causing traffic accidents and perjuring themselves about it later, among other reporting achievements. Re-prioritized police beat to deepen institutional and policy coverage. Summer 1989 The New Haven Register (New Haven, Conn.) Reporting intern Took part in the first interview of a former Pentagon hand subpoenaed in the Operation Ill Wind military contracting scandal; led the questioning of then-state Attorney General Joe Lieberman, campaigning for the U.S. Senate, that led to him saying America should bomb Libya regardless of whether Khadafy was found to be responsible for the bombing of a German disco; and covered the municipal doings of a town called Shelton in the Naugatuck Valley. 1986 to 1989 The Minnesota Daily Managing Editor, Assistant Managing Editor, Reporter As M.E., led a 50-plus member staff to the best year in the history of the nation's best college newspaper. The toll of our investigations, including resignations, firings, early retirements and a conviction: two presidents, three vice presidents, one athletic director, one director of minority affairs, and one physical plant director. Our athletic department investigation, and court victory for the release of an NCAA report, was featured in Editor & Publisher. And we turned a profit for the first time in three years in part due to my work with the business manager. Also edited two annual humor editions. Freelance Credits: Inside Sports, Variety, Newsweek Japan, Illinois Issues, Illinois Legal Times, Delta’s Sky magazine, Newsday, The Baltimore Sun, USA Weekend, the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Columbia Journalism Review, Vegetarian Times, the Religion News Service, Digital Cities Chicago, UPI, No Depression, Crain’s Chicago Business, City & State, The Chicago Bureau/The Youth Project, and the Goal magazine hockey program. Editing: Unlock Congress The Chicago Principles on Post-Conflict Justice
- 5. Awards: 2011: Stopped applying for awards because I by and large don’t believe in them for a number of reasons. 2010 The Beachwood Reporter named city’s best “blog” by the Chicago Headline Club, the local SPJ chapter. 2009 SPJ national award for best investigative reporting by independent online media for a joint project with Columbia College about city council committees meeting without quorums, minutes, and other quasi-required elements. 2008 IRE award for investigative reporting for a joint project with Columbia College about city council perks and hiring. 2004 National Magazine Award For General Excellence to Chicago magazine for issues including “The Sad Saga of Bob Greene.” 2004 City and Regional Magazine Association Silver Medal for Reporting: “Anatomy of a Crash.” 2003 Peter Lisagor Award (Chicago Headline Club) Award For In- Depth Reporting: “Anatomy of a Crash.” 2001 Peter Lisagor (Chicago Headline Club) Award For Reporting: “The Day Clout Struck Out.” 2001 Judge, American Planning Association Journalism Awards 1996 Outstanding Achievement Award to the reporting team of Newsweek’s bisexuality cover story, Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association 1988 Best College Daily, Society of Professional Journalists Best Spot News, Daily Extra, SPJ Leadership Award, University of Minnesota 1986 Minneapolis Star and Tribune Scholarship 1985 Scottish Rite Journalism Scholarship
- 6. 1983 Bloomington Scholarship Panelist Appearances: 2012: Columbia College Creative Nonfiction Week: Election Night Coverage That Rocks! 2011: Leading the Media Revolution: Screening of the documentary Mashed Media followed by a roundtable featuring the film’s subjects, including yours truly. 2010: McCormick Fall Fellows Forum/Beachwood Reporter Case Study 2010: Bleeping Golden: Insiders’ Stories Of Covering The Blago Trial 2010: Young Leaders Public Interest Seminar: Media 2010: Community Media Workshop: The Business Of Media 2010: CMO Expo Publishers’ Panel 2009: Community Media Workshop: Opinions In The News 2009: Loyola University: Do Newspapers Still Matter? 2009: The MIT Enterprise Forum of Chicago: Innovation and the 2008 Presidential Campaign 2009: Chicago Media Future Conference: How To Make Money Selling The News 2008: International Newspaper Marketing Association Strategic Marketing & Innovation Summit: What Is The Online Business Model For Newspapers? 2007: Moderator, University of Chicago panel: Reporting on Human Rights 2006: Community Media Workshop: Emerging Online News Outlets 2005: HOW Design Conference: Blogging
- 7. 2002: Columbia College Creative Nonfiction Week: The Craft of the Columnist Media Citations/Appearances: The American Editor, AP, Chicago Public Radio, Chicago Tonight, Chicago Week in Review, Fox Chicago Sunday, the Guardian, NBC Chicago, The NewYork Times, WGN-TV, WGN-AM, CLTV’s Politics Tonight, the Washington Post, CNN’s Reliable Sources, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain’s Chicago Business, the Christian Science Monitor, CBS Chicago, Chicago Reader, The O’Reilly Factor, The Rachel Maddow Show, On The Media, Newsweek Radio, Untouchable: Mobster Cop, and the upcoming Deadly Associates. Classroom: Guest speaker for numerous classes at Northwestern University, Columbia College, Loyola University, DePaul University and the University of Illinois-Chicago. Miscellaneous: Entry in CJR’s Guide To Online News Startups (2011) Q & A with ChicagoTalks (2008)