Online pre-registration is now closed. A limited number of walk-in seats will be available. Please send an email to [email protected] if you are in need of a walk-in registration form. Please note walk-in registrations must be paid by credit card, check or exact cash as PRSA Chicago will not be able to provide change. Thank you!

About Program

Head out on a crawl of Chicago’s media industry without leaving the Loop! This event promises to be a fun and informative exploration of Chicago’s media environment for newly minted and seasoned PR practitioners alike. We start with a panel discussion from the city’s top editors and journalists on the state of media in Chicago and continue with a roundtable format where you ask your questions directly to media leaders representing different beats across print, radio and TV outlets.

When: Tuesday, Sept. 17; 11:30 AM-1:30 PM
Where: Petterino's; Private banquet entrance at 50 W. Randolph Street

SPEAKERS

Ravi Baichwal
Anchor, ABC 7 Chicago
@ABC7Chicago
@BaichwalABC7
Ravi Baichwal co-anchors the ABC 7 Weekend News at 5 and 10 p.m. He also reports for ABC 7's newscasts. Baichwal joined ABC 7 Chicago in November 2006. In 2008, he won the Emmy award for best anchor in the Chicago/Midwest region of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Prior to arriving in Chicago, Baichwal was an integral part of CTV News, Canada's number one news organization. He was the host of "CTV Newsnet Morning with Ravi Baichwal" and reported for CTV National News. He also anchored and hosted marquee network shows including Canada's number one newscast, "CTV National News."

During his tenure, Baichwal gained a national reputation for seamless coverage of live, breaking news. He covered the fast changing world of politics and served as host of two award-winning election night specials. Other historically significant stories he has covered include the terrorist attacks on the London Underground system, the discovery of fugitive former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein by U.S. soldiers and the death of Pope John Paul II.

Nick Blumberg
Producer, WTTW’s Chicago Tonight
@WTTW
@ndblumberg
Nick Blumberg is an award-winning producer and occasional reporter for WTTW News, where his work appears on Chicago Tonight and the WTTW News website. He’s also co-produced news documentaries for WTTW profiling the two major candidates for Illinois Governor and Mayor of Chicago in the most recent elections, and has produced several comprehensive online voters’ guides.

A Chicago native, he is a magna cum laude graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He joined WTTW after nearly five years with KJZZ, the NPR member station in Phoenix. His work has also appeared on PBS NewsHour Weekend, NPR’s Weekend Edition and Here and Now, Marketplace, and the BBC World Service.

Robert Channick
Business Reporter, Chicago Tribune
@RobertChannick
@chicagotribune
Robert Channick is a business reporter for the Tribune. A former broadcast consultant and radio station manager, he began freelancing for the Chicago Tribune in 2002, joining the Tribune staff as a business reporter in 2011. He has a bachelor's degree in English from Kenyon College and a master's in journalism from Northwestern University.

Mark Guarino
Journalist, Washington Post
@washingtonpost
@markguarino
Mark Guarino is a veteran journalist in Chicago covering national news and culture. He currently covers Chicago for the Washington Post and his byline often appears in Chicago Magazine, Crain’s, and National Geographic Traveler. For six years he was the Midwest Bureau Chief for The Christian Science Monitor and he was the pop music critic for The Daily Herald for 11 years. In the past his byline has appeared in The Guardian, The Chicago Tribune, Reuters, AFP, and many more media outlets. His first book is forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press. Apart from journalism, Mark has also written speeches and content marketing for Rotary International, Accenture, Golin, the PACO Collective, and other agencies. Visit mark-guarino.com.

Rob Hart
Anchor/Reporter, WBBM Newsradio 780
@WBBMNewsradio
@RobHartWBBM
Rob Hart grew up in Beverly, attended St. Ignatius College Prep and Marquette University. His radio news career started at WTMJ in Milwaukee in 2000. Since then, he has worked at a number of Chicago radio stations, including WGN, WLS, WLUP and the former WIQI. He joined WBBM as a reporter and anchor in 2016 and can be heard at various times throughout the week. Rob is also a freelance contributor to CBS News Radio.

In 2004, Rob won the Milwaukee Brewers Sausage Race. He has also won several non-sausage related awards. He lives in Park Ridge with his wife and two daughters.

Maudlyne Ihejirika
Chicago Chronicles Columnist, Staff Reporter, Chicago Sun-Times
@Suntimes
@maudlynei
Maudlyne Ihejirika is an award-winning, urban affairs reporter, columnist and author with 30 years experience in journalism, public relations and government. She holds a B.A. in journalism from University of Iowa, an M.S.J. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and an honorary Doctorate from Saint Xavier University. She writes the Sun-Times "Chicago Chronicles," long-form columns on "people and places that make Chicago tick," with a focus on black and brown communities. Her honors include the prestigious Studs Terkel Award, top national and local awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists, and several civic awards. She’s president of the Chicago Journalists Association and the National Association of Black Journalists Chicago. Her expertise in urban affairs, immigration and refugee issues, and social justice has led to appearances on CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS and NPR. She’s a frequent guest contributor on WTTW’s "Chicago Tonight: Week In Review" and FOX32’s "Good Day Chicago." Follow her at @maudlynei on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Lewis Lazare
Business Reporter, Chicago Business Journal
@LLazare_ChiBiz
@ChiBizJournal
Lewis Lazare is a reporter for the Chicago Business Journal, which was founded seven years ago as a digital-only title.  CBJ is part of a 43-city national network of business publications owned by Advance Publications, also the parent of the Conde Nast magazine empire.  Mr. Lazare’s principal beats at CBJ include airlines, advertising, tourism, retail and culture. Mr. Lazare previously was a marketing columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times for nearly 11 years.  He also created the Culture Club at the Chicago Reader, an arts business column he wrote for nearly 11 years. Previous to that, he was an associate editor at Crain’s Chicago Business for 10 years.  Mr. Lazare holds a MSJ advanced degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He graduated cum laude with a B.A. in English and dramatic literature from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Pam Oliver
News Planning Editor Producer, NBC Chicago
@nbcchicago
@newsladypam
Pam Oliver is an Emmy-award winning Producer and News Planning Editor at NBC 5 Chicago. Pam’s mission and passion to make a positive impact in society has been evident in her work since she joined NBC 5 Chicago more than 30 years ago. Pam has held a number of roles of increasing responsibility at NBC Chicago including segment producer, news show producer, field producer, health producer and unit researcher for several nationally recognized programs.

As the News Planning Editor/Producer, Pam is responsible for identifying stories for daily news coverage for the Chicagoland market. She is a life-long Chicagoan with deep ties to the community and long-term relationships with local leaders and organizers. Pam has leveraged her stature and credibility in the community to bring Chicago viewers emotionally compelling and award-winning stories for NBC 5’s Making a Difference and Neighborhood Hero segments.

SPEAKER/MODERATOR
Michael Arndt
Executive Vice President, Executive Editor, Edelman Chicago
@Mr_Innovation
@EdelmanCHI
Michael Arndt joined Edelman in late 2018 after a long career as an award-winning business journalist. Immediately before taking a leadership role in Edelman's editorial team, Michael was editor of Crain's Chicago Business for nearly seven years, overseeing a staff of more than two dozen professionals. Prior to joining Crain's as managing editor in 2010, he was a senior editor and senior writer with BusinessWeek for more than a decade and launched and ran a monthly magazine for BusinessWeek called BW Chicago. Michael also was Sunday business editor for Chicago Tribune from 1995 to 2000 and chief economics correspondent in the newspaper's Washington, D.C., bureau from 1990 to 1995. Michael also was an editor with Bloomberg. He frequently has spoken at events, as an emcee, moderator and panelist, and appeared on television and radio.

Michael is a long-time judge for the annual Chicago Innovation Awards and Illinois Technology Association's CityLights awards as well as business journalism contests including the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing's Best in Business Awards and the Neal Awards. He is on the board of advisors of Chicago Innovation and previously was on the boards of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Alliance of Area Business Publications. He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and the Executives' Club of Chicago. 

Michael holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Wisconsin in journalism and lives in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Questions? Send an email to Sarah Hanel, APR, and Kayee Ip, Programming co-chairs at [email protected].

Program Details

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