Editor, writer, and content producer Clear. Honest. Cogent. Trusted.
I am a Chicago journalist and editor with more than 40 years in newsrooms, from the copy desk at The Wall Street Journal to managing editor of Crain’s City & State to real estate editor at the Chicago Sun-Times. Since 2008 I have written and consulted on the question that decides whether local journalism survives: who owns it, who pays for it, and what structures let it last. I write about the L3C newsroom model, program-related investments, Chicago’s news ecosystem, civic technology, and open government.
I have served in several leadership roles — including managing editor, development director, foundation and corporate relations officer, and director of public affairs — managing strategy and organizational development throughout.
As a fundraiser, I have raised budgets for nonprofit organizations, including a homeless shelter for women and the Better Government Association, through foundation partnerships with the MacArthur Foundation and others.
A thought leader in place-based online journalism, I worked with the Knight Digital Media Center and Chicago Tribune’s 435 Digital to showcase sustainable local news models. The Chicago Community Trust recruited me to organize journalism entrepreneurs in conversations about Chicago’s news ecosystem. Here’s the 2017 report.
In a recent position with John Lothian News, I developed ESG content and hosted the Environmental Markets podcast series. I also implemented SEO strategies on the JLN YouTube channel and enlisted AI-powered digital strategies to drive content across newsrooms and social media platforms.
As an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Business Administration, I taught Managerial Communications. I hold a Master’s Degree in Managerial Communications from Northwestern University. I am currently teaching public speaking at Truman College, a Chicago community college.
I served as an Aide to Mayor Richard M. Daley, managing a 20-member CEO board undertaking process improvements within several city departments. In that role, I facilitated business partnerships that brought $4 million in services and goods to Chicago Public Schools.
My crisis communications experience includes FEMA deployment during Superstorm Sandy in New Jersey. My work includes developing an emergency operational plan for the City of Chicago during the 1995 heat wave — which took the lives of 739 people. That heat wave is now considered by climate scientists to be a seminal event in the history of climate change.
- Research
- Writing and Blogging
- Marketing Communications
- Business Development and Connecting
- Digital Media Strategy
- Community Building
- Journalism
I provide insight and solutions for navigating the cross-dimensional worlds of information, community, and web.
As your chief credibility officer, I can help your organization communicate your truths in an increasingly crowded world of media.
Specialties:
—Content development;
— Social media capacity building through coaching;
— Development of needed organizational and web structures;
— Environmental scanning to identify partners and collaborators;
— Research and conceptual visioning of client’s digital presence;
— Active social media strategies to elevate visibility and connect appropriately;
— Online and offline community and audience building;
— Social media campaign development including metrics and deliverables.
— Expert partners in the digital worlds of the web.
As an editor, writer, and digital content producer, I create journalistic-style multimedia while curating the best content from respected sources. Everything I create has been researched, vetted, edited, and produced to meet the highest journalistic standards — standards I learned in the newsrooms of The Wall Street Journal, Crain Communications, and the Chicago Sun-Times.
Contact me: SallyDuros on gmail.com