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59-604: Northwestern is one of the few schools embracing a technological approach towards journalism. Medill received a Knight Foundation grant to establish the Knight News Innovation Laboratory in 2011. The Knight Lab is a joint initiative of Medill and the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern, one of the first to combine journalism and computer science. The Medill School was founded in 1921, and named after Joseph Medill (1823–1899), owner and editor of

118-467: A Master of Science degree and Undergraduate Certificate. The graduate level program has full-time, part-time and online options. Full-time students can pursue a specialization, choosing from brand strategy, content marketing, digital and interactive marketing, marketing analytics, strategic communications and media management. Medill undergraduates participate in a journalism residency for one quarter in their junior or senior year, during which they intern in

177-402: A beginning balance of $ 9,047, transferred from the education fund. Knight Foundation incorporated in the state of Ohio with the goal of carrying out the work of the education fund. At its start, the foundation gave grants for education, social services, cultural organizations and some journalism-related causes. In its first decade, the foundation's financial resources came from contributions from

236-666: A clear conflict of interest. As a result, Simon said he was denied due process and did not have adequate defense counsel. After Simon was finally exonerated, in 2014 he filed a civil federal civil rights suit against the Northwestern University Innocence Project, saying people associated with it had deceived and coerced him into a false confession to the murders of Hilliard and Green, which resulted in his being convicted of murder and serving 15 years in prison. In November 2018, he received an undisclosed settlement. State officials initially denied any wrongdoing in

295-399: A false statement by Ciolino and another man. They posed as city police officers, and they showed him a videotape of an actor pretending to be a witness who implicated him in the crime. They promised him a short prison sentence and a movie deal if he confessed. Protess and Ciolino vigorously denied any wrongdoing; they said that a number of Simon's claims are false, and they believed that he

354-568: A grant. (Before 2010, an organization had to be a registered section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.) The process of asking for a grant begins with a letter of inquiry describing the project concept. In addition to the foundation's regular granting program, there are three contests (calls for entries): The Knight News Challenge , the Knight Arts Challenge and the Knight Community Information Challenge . In 2011

413-491: A letter Lavine wrote for Medill's alumni magazine. Lavine attributed a quote praising a Medill marketing class to "a Medill junior" in the class. Spett reportedly called all 29 students enrolled in the class, including all five Medill juniors, and according to Spett, all denied saying the quote. Lavine denied fabricating the quote in a February 20 email to students, but expressed regret for what he called "poor judgment" in not keeping his notes. The so-called "Quotegate" controversy

472-562: A new investigation into the Porter case. Two days later, Porter was released from prison on bail, after having spent 17 years on death row. The state dropped the charges against him the next month. In 1999 Alstory Simon was formally charged with the two murders. In September 1999, Simon pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 37 ½ years in prison. In 2005, Inez Jackson and her nephew, Walter Jackson, both recanted their statements that implicated Simon in

531-584: A professional newsroom or media organization. Media outlets across the United States—and in some cases, overseas—have participated in this program. Medill is headquartered on the southern end of Northwestern's campus in Evanston, Illinois , but it also opened a program in 2008, at the branch campus Northwestern University in Qatar . Northwestern's also has a San Francisco campus, located at 44 Montgomery St., right in

590-644: A quarterly fee to help cover production and communications costs. Print correspondents transmit stories electronically every day. Television stories are sent by network feed or satellite, or shipped overnight, as each station requires. For Medill IMC students or Master's Journalism students of the Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE) specialization, a new campus in downtown San Francisco opened in September 2016 to facilitate special curricula during one quarter of their program. For Medill MIE students, this campus

649-467: A result of the controversy. Two witnesses also recanted their statements. After a yearlong investigation, the charges against Simon were vacated by the Cook County State's Attorney's office and he was freed in 2014, after having served 15 years in prison. The Chicago double-murder case is still unsolved. Anthony Porter filed a civil suit against the city, but a jury trial in 2005 found in favor of

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708-554: Is a joint initiative of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced in 2011. It combines the disciplines of journalism and computer science together to establish a "media innovation lab", one of the few of its kind in the country. According to Northwestern's press release: The Medill Justice Project, originally known as

767-500: Is the epicenter of their studies related to human-centered design, the business of startups, and learning to code and work within a tech-industry company. While taking courses related to creating startups, students also work 2 days a week with a practicum company (internship). In a February 11, 2008 column written for the Daily Northwestern , Medill senior David Spett questioned the use of anonymous sources by Dean John Lavine in

826-609: The Akron Beacon Journal , provided tuition assistance to college students in need. Following their father's death, John S. and James L. Knight created the Knight Memorial Education Fund in 1940 to continue the mission of helping needy Akron college students pay for college. The Akron Beacon Journal also contributed some money to the education fund. In December 1950, the Knight Foundation was created with

885-729: The Chicago Tribune , which was then run by his grandsons Robert R. McCormick and Joseph Medill Patterson . The journalism program offers Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees. The undergraduate curriculum requires a broad liberal arts education as well as the study and practice of journalism. The one-year master's curriculum is an intensive hands-on with students specializing in either: Health, Environment and Science; Magazine; Media Innovation and Content Strategy; Politics, Policy and Foreign Affairs; Social Justice and Investigative Reporting; Sports Media; or Video and Broadcast. The Integrated Marketing Communications program offers

944-626: The Akron Beacon Journal and Miami Herald , and from personal grants from John and James Knight. Other Knight newspapers also contributed in the early 1960s; this led to a limited number of grants to those cities. Despite several family ties, the foundation was legally independent of Knight-owned newspapers. Newspaper contributions to the foundation stopped five years later. At that time, the Knights' mother Clara, who died on November 12, 1965, left her inheritance of 180,000 shares of Knight stock to

1003-683: The Knight Foundation , is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for journalism, communities, and the arts. The organization was founded as the Knight Memorial Education Fund in 1940. For its first decade, most of its contributions came from the Akron Beacon Journal and Miami Herald . The fund was incorporated as Knight Foundation in 1950 in Ohio, and reincorporated as the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Florida in 1993. Its first grant in

1062-633: The Medill Innocence Project , began in 1999, as an effort by Medill faculty and students to reinvestigate murder convictions in Illinois and determine if people were wrongly convicted. This effort has helped to free 11 innocent men, including Anthony Porter and the Ford Heights Four . Medill Justice Project work is credited with prompting Illinois Governor George Ryan to suspend the death penalty and commute all death sentences in 2003. In 1999,

1121-439: The 1983 rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico . They were exonerated after having been sentenced to death. Given these cases, in which several innocent men were found to have been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death, there was intense pressure from the public and the media to make a change. After ordering a review of the state's cases, in 2000 Governor Ryan initiated a moratorium on executions in Illinois. In 2011

1180-447: The City of Chicago for $ 24 million. The City refused settlement and the case went to trial in 2005. After additional investigation, the City's attorney argued that Porter had in fact committed the killings. The jury found in favor of the City, thus the City was not liable for any damages, and Porter did not receive any settlement. Based on information revealed in Porter's suit, which detailed

1239-586: The Foundation added a fourth contest, the Black Male Engagement Challenge . In 2015 a grant agreement was reached with Wikimedia Foundation to build a search engine called Knowledge Engine . Alstory Simon Anthony Porter (December 14, 1954 - July 25, 2021) was a Chicago resident known for having been exonerated in 1999 of the murder in 1982 of two teenagers on the South Side of

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1298-536: The Innocence Project founder and director, and long-time Medill journalism professor. Prosecutors said Protess, private investigator Paul Ciolino, and Medill students manipulated Simon into making the confession. The Innocence Project allegedly told Simon he could be executed, said he could earn money from book deals if he cooperated, and falsely claimed there was a witness who implicated Simon. The Medill Innocence Project has been accused of framing Alstory Simon for

1357-653: The Knight News Challenge, sought ideas that used "digital technology to inform communities." In addition to Knight's pivot toward funding digital innovations, the foundation also doubled down on its support of the First Amendment, funding regular surveys that gauged high school students' awareness of it, and helping create organizations like the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University to "preserve and expand First Amendment rights in

1416-608: The Porter case. Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley , who had been Illinois State Attorney during the prosecution of Porter, asserted that "It was a thorough case, it was reviewed. No one railroads anyone." Illinois Governor George Ryan suggested that the exoneration of Porter was evidence that the system worked. The Northwestern University Innocence Project had earlier assisted in the exoneration of four men on death row. More recently, Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez were found to have been wrongfully convicted after having been prosecuted by Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan for

1475-596: The allegations and took a leave of absence during the university's investigation. Klein resigned from his position and left the university in August. The Medill IMC Spiegel Digital & Database Research Center is the first research center at Medill. Founded in 2011, it is funded by a gift from the late Ted Spiegel, Medill professor emeritus and member of the family who founded the Spiegel (catalog) , and his wife Audrey. The center focuses on evidence-based, data driven analysis to prove

1534-538: The area of journalism was given to the Inter American Press Association , a press advocacy group, in Miami. After Creed Black assumed the presidency of the foundation in 1988, its national presence grew. In 1990, the board of trustees voted to relocate its headquarters from Akron, Ohio , to Miami , Florida , where it has been headquartered since. From 1907 to 1933, Charles Landon Knight , publisher of

1593-553: The arts and sports. Every Medill News Service journalist also has the opportunity to spend a quarter in a Washington, D.C. , covering breaking news as well as in-depth, enterprise stories on politics, civil rights, energy, technology or education. Medill journalists attend congressional proceedings, press conferences, conventions and congressional hearings and connect those stories to the communities they cover—not an insider audience. The Medill News Service serves newspapers, Web sites, television stations and radio stations, which all pay

1652-473: The bulk of his Knight-Ridder shares to Knight Foundation. The foundation opened its first office in Akron with two full-time employees: President Ben Maidenburg , former Akron Beacon Journal executive editor and his secretary, Shirley Follo. More than a year after taking the reins, Maidenburg fell ill. The foundation's headquarters moved from Akron, Ohio to Miami in 1990. At that time, the foundation's portfolio

1711-639: The charges against him and ended his 37-year sentence in October 2014, ordering his release from prison. He had served for 15 years. The question of who committed the double murders is unanswered. Alvarez said the investigation by the Medill Innocence Project "involved a series of alarming tactics that were not only coercive and absolutely unacceptable by law enforcement standards, they were potentially in violation of Mr. Simon's constitutionally protected rights." After his release, in 2003 Anthony Porter sued

1770-526: The city, the original police investigation, and prosecution. Alstory Simon filed suit in 2015 against Northwestern University's Innocence Project, and was awarded an undisclosed settlement in June 2018. Porter died on June 25, 2021, of a likely drug overdose. About 1 a.m. on August 15, 1982, two teenagers, Marilyn Green and her fiance Jerry Hillard, were shot and killed near a swimming pool in Washington Park on

1829-515: The city. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1983, and served 17 years on death row . He was exonerated following introduction of new evidence by Northwestern University professors and students from the Medill School of Journalism as part of their investigation for the school's Innocence Project . Porter's appeals had been repeatedly rejected, including by the US Supreme Court, and he

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1888-648: The city’s Financial District. It opened in fall 2016 and is a partnership between both Medill and Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. For many years the school's main location was in Fisk Hall. In fall 2002, the school opened the McCormick Foundation Center (formerly the McCormick Tribune Center), which features a professional-grade TV studio and multimedia classrooms for Medill's growing emphasis on new forms of media. It

1947-454: The connection between customer engagement and purchase behavior. Medill operates a working newsroom in downtown Chicago as part of its graduate journalism program. Graduate students have been providing news coverage to client newspapers since 1995. Each quarter, student reporters are assigned to cover stories about city and county government, the events in state and federal courts, business and economic development, health and science issues and

2006-556: The court granted another stay. At that time, students in a journalism course taught by Northwestern University professor David Protess investigated the Anthony Porter case as part of a class assignment for the Innocence Project of the Medill School of Journalism (it is now called the Medill Justice Project.) The students assigned to the Porter case gathered evidence through their investigation that exposed serious flaws in

2065-462: The crime. Inez Jackson was extremely ill and on her deathbed. They admitted that they had fabricated their stories in order to obtain money and help from professor David Protess in order to free Inez's son, Sonny Jackson, and her nephew, Walter Jackson, from prison. When Walter Jackson had first become involved in the case, he was incarcerated for first-degree murder. Alstory Simon recanted his confession. He said that he had been pressured into making

2124-431: The digital age through research and education, and by supporting litigation in favor of protecting freedom of expression and the press." Under Ibargüen, Knight also expanded its support of the arts, through "Knight Arts Challenges" in a number of Knight Communities. The Foundation's website describes grant-making programs in journalism, communities, and the arts. Communities which had Knight-Ridder Newspapers in 1991, at

2183-515: The estranged wife of Alstory Simon, then living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , where he was from, came forward to testify against him. He had lived in Chicago in the 1980s. She claimed that she had been with Simon when he killed Hilliard in retaliation for "skimming money from drug deals." She also said that she had never met or seen Porter. Her nephew Walter Jackson, whose apartment Simon allegedly fled to after

2242-473: The five-year initiative with $ 5.4 million in grants to build the connection between orchestras and their audiences. In 1999, the foundation approved a second phase, expanding the program to a total of $ 13 million over 12 years. Knight-Ridder newspapers and the foundation held ties to 26 U.S. cities and in 1998, the foundation's board of trustees voted to permanently fund these 26 cities, independent from where Knight-Ridder bought or sold their newspaper business in

2301-493: The foundation. The stock was valued at $ 5.2 million. Two years later, in 1974, Knight Newspapers merged with Ridder Publications to create Knight-Ridder Inc. , which created the largest newspaper company in the country at the time. Lee Hills , former president of Knight Newspapers, became Knight-Ridder chairman and CEO. Hills, a foundation trustee since 1960, was the first person outside the family to head Knight Newspapers. In April 1975, John Knight signed his final will, leaving

2360-430: The further creation of endowments of journalism programs at colleges and universities. The premise was that traditional journalism education had to change to meet the unique challenges of the digital age. Knight also began experimenting with non-traditional approaches to connecting with new grantees, such as contests that limited grantees to 150 words to describe ideas and were open to anybody. The first of these contests,

2419-539: The future. Across the 26 cities, the foundation deployed program directors to oversee funding initiatives. Each city has a Knight Community Advisory Committee, a group made up of local residents, which offer funding suggestions for their city. In 2005, to address the Internet's increasingly disruptive impact on the traditional media industry, Knight began a number of systemic changes in its approach to making grants. As one of his first actions as CEO, Alberto Ibargüen suspended

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2478-728: The local community foundation is the first point of contact for funding: The foundation endows Knight Chairs who are journalists in tenured positions at universities across the United States. Journalism-technology labs in various universities are also funded by Knight Foundation. Knight Foundation funds multimedia training in newsrooms such as National Public Radio and through programs like Knight-Mozilla OpenNews. Knight Foundation presidents have been: John S. Knight , James L. Knight , Lee Hills , Creed C. Black , Hodding Carter III (1997–2005), and Alberto Ibargüen (2005–present). Any individual or U.S.-based organization may apply for

2537-523: The murders. In 2015, Simon sued Northwestern for $ 40 million; the case was settled in 2018 for an undisclosed amount. From 2009 to 2011, the project was involved in a dispute with the Cook County, Illinois state's attorney over the handling of the Anthony McKinney case. The university claimed reporter's privilege in resisting a subpoena for Justice Project records of the case, while the state claimed

2596-588: The project had been acting as investigators in behalf of McKinney's counsel. Medill faculty member David Protess was suspended during this dispute. In 2011, Protess left to found the Chicago Innocence Project and blog for the Huffington Post while the school gave up the records. In February 2018, Medill Justice Project Director Alec Klein was accused of bullying and sexual harassment by multiple former students and employees. Klein "categorically" denied

2655-508: The project successfully worked to free Anthony Porter, who had been convicted of killing two people. Alstory Simon made a video confession to the crimes, encouraged by the Medill Justice Project and a private investigator. Simon pleaded guilty and was eventually sentenced to 37 years. However, in 2014, authorities exonerated Simon and freed him from prison. Anita Alvarez, of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office , criticized David Protess,

2714-475: The prosecution. Student Tom McCann and Private Investigator Paul J. Ciolino spoke to William Taylor who, in December 1998, recanted his original statements. He said that Chicago police had "threatened, harassed and intimidated" him into accusing Porter. But McCann and Ciolino did not speak to any other of the original six witnesses, nor to the detectives who investigated the case. On January 29, 1999, Inez Jackson,

2773-485: The shooting, corroborated her story. Simon was contacted at his home in Milwaukee by Ciolino and others associated with the Innocence Project. Four days later, on February 3, 1999, Simon went to the police and confessed to the crime in a videotaped session. Protess and the students introduced information from their investigation. After representatives of the Cook County State's Attorney office saw Simon's tape, it launched

2832-408: The south side of Chicago . Anthony Porter, a 27-year-old gang member, was identified by several witnesses as being involved with the crime or near the crime scene. William Taylor, who had been swimming in the pool at the time of the shooting, initially said that he had not seen the shooting but had seen Porter run past shortly after the shots. He later said that he had seen Porter firing the shots. He

2891-459: The time of the last founder James L. Knight 's death, are considered to be among the 26 "Knight Communities" which are eligible for funding through the Foundation's community and arts programs. Knight works in 26 communities in the United States. In eight communities, a local program director leads the work: Another 18 communities have 'Knight Donor Advised Funds' guided by Knight Foundation via local community foundations. In those communities,

2950-638: The two murders, one count of armed robbery, one count of unlawful restraint, and two counts of unlawful use of weapons. After a short trial, Porter was convicted of the murders. Judge Robert L. Sklodowski sentenced Porter to death, calling him a "perverse shark." An appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court was denied in February 1986, and an appeal to the United States Supreme Court was denied the following year. Porter continued to file appeals in

3009-399: The work of the Innocence Project in gaining new material, Alstory Simon filed a post-conviction petition for relief January 2006 in his case. He noted that Ciolino and others had deceived him when they contacted him, including having an actor pretend to be a witness against him in the case. Furthermore, Ciolino had recommended a defense counsel who was a professional colleague and associate, in

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3068-416: The years that followed, delaying the execution. In 1995 Porter's defense counsel arranged testing of his client's mental capacity. He was found to have an IQ of 51, characterizing him as intellectually disabled . His counsel filed a new appeal on the grounds that Porter was incapable of understanding his punishment by the death penalty. In late 1998, forty-eight hours before he was scheduled to be executed,

3127-406: Was among six witnesses who identified Porter in the areas of the shooting, including one who said he had been robbed by Porter at gunpoint a short time earlier in the park. Police were given leads pointing toward other suspects. They appeared to pursue only Porter. Upon hearing that he was under suspicion, Porter went to the police and turned himself in. He was immediately arrested and charged with

3186-414: Was convicted in 1999, and sentenced to 37 + 1 ⁄ 2 years in prison. But Simon later recanted his confession, saying that he had been duped and it had been coerced by private investigator Paul Ciolino, who posed as a city police officer while working with the Innocence Project. David Protess, one of two professors involved with the Innocence Project, was suspended by Northwestern University in 2011 as

3245-504: Was generally known as the Medill School of Journalism. To reflect the broader focus the faculty approved the expanded name "Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications" in late 2010, and the new name was approved by the university board of trustees in March 2011. Medill is known for graduates who "mix high-tech savvy with hard-nosed reporting skills". The Knight Lab

3304-451: Was guilty of the murders. In 2011, Northwestern University placed Protess on leave after finding that he had deliberately falsified evidence related to a subpoena issued by Cook County for his records in a different wrongful conviction case. He resigned from the university and by 2014 had become head of the Chicago Innocence Project. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez conducted a year-long investigation of Simon's case. She vacated

3363-408: Was once 50 hours away from execution . Porter was exonerated after another suspect was identified and confessed, in a process since considered highly controversial. Alstory Simon, who was living in Chicago in the 1980s but had returned to Milwaukee , was identified in 1999 by the Medill Innocence Project as the perpetrator of the murders. Simon confessed to the crime on videotape. He pleaded guilty,

3422-760: Was the focus of stories, columns and editorials in local and national media, including the Chicago Tribune , the Chicago Sun-Times , The Washington Post and Editor & Publisher . Medill alumni have won: The school recognizes alumni "whose distinctive careers have had positive impacts on their fields" with its Hall of Achievement award, as well as alumni who have been awarded a Pulitzer Prize. 42°3′2.8″N 87°40′27.1″W  /  42.050778°N 87.674194°W  / 42.050778; -87.674194 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation , also known as

3481-537: Was valued at $ 522 million and staff had grown to 14 employees. On February 5, 1991, James Knight died, leaving a bulk of his estate, $ 200 million, to the foundation. Hills succeeded as chairman of the board. With the foundation besieged by requests in the early 1990s for emergency funding to "save our symphony," Penelope McPhee, director of the Arts Program, designed the Magic of Music initiative . In 1992, Knight launched

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