{"id":22612,"date":"2019-08-12T06:00:44","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T11:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=22612"},"modified":"2019-08-12T06:49:57","modified_gmt":"2019-08-12T11:49:57","slug":"block-club-chicago-snaps-neighborhood-news-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2019\/08\/12\/block-club-chicago-snaps-neighborhood-news-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"Block Club Chicago snaps up neighborhood news fans"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_22616\" style=\"width: 790px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2019\/08\/12\/block-club-chicago-snaps-neighborhood-news-fans\/\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22616\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-22616\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Block-Club-Chicago-logo-1024x572.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"780\" height=\"436\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Block-Club-Chicago-logo-1024x572.jpg 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Block-Club-Chicago-logo-300x168.jpg 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Block-Club-Chicago-logo-768x429.jpg 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Block-Club-Chicago-logo-500x279.jpg 500w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Block-Club-Chicago-logo-150x84.jpg 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Block-Club-Chicago-logo-400x223.jpg 400w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Block-Club-Chicago-logo-800x447.jpg 800w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Block-Club-Chicago-logo-200x112.jpg 200w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Block-Club-Chicago-logo.jpg 1028w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-22616\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/a> Block Club Chicago<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A wayward alligator in the Humboldt Park lagoon \u2014 as well as generous grants from three local foundations \u2014 are making this a great summer for <a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\">Block Club Chicago.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>On Friday the nonprofit subscription-based digital news site, founded by former editors of DNAinfo Chicago, exceeded 20 million page views since its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/2018\/06\/12\/block-club-chicago-comes-alive-wednesday\/\">launch<\/a> in June 2018. It now boasts more than 8,000 paid subscribers.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re so proud of the support we\u2019ve gotten from our readers and our donors,\u201d editor-in-chief Shamus Toomey told me. \u201cThanks to both, we can grow our newsroom and bring more neighborhood news coverage to Chicago. We had a fantastic first year. We can\u2019t thank Chicagoans enough for how warmly they\u2019ve embraced Block Club.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22614\" style=\"width: 292px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/2019\/08\/12\/block-club-chicago-snaps-neighborhood-news-fans\/t-shirt-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-22614\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22614\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-22614\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/T-shirt-282x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"282\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/T-shirt-282x300.jpg 282w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/T-shirt-768x817.jpg 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/T-shirt-500x532.jpg 500w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/T-shirt-150x160.jpg 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/T-shirt-400x425.jpg 400w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/T-shirt-800x851.jpg 800w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/T-shirt-200x213.jpg 200w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/T-shirt.jpg 835w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-22614\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gator Watch 2019<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Block Club's best-read story so far was reporter <a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2019\/07\/09\/theres-an-alligator-or-crocodile-in-the-humboldt-park-lagoon-witnesses-say\/\">Mina Bloom's scoop<\/a> last month on the discovery of a five-foot alligator lurking in the Humboldt Park lagoon on Chicago's West Side. The news set off a media frenzy and garnered nationwide headlines while the city worked to capture the gator.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe quickly realized the gator had captivated the city,\" Toomey said. \"We worked with a local artist on [\u201cGator Watch 2019\u201d] shirts and totes, and sold nearly 4,000.\"<\/p>\n<p>Thousands more participated in Block Club's<a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2019\/07\/10\/name-the-humboldt-park-gator-win-sweet-prizes\/\"> online poll <\/a>to name the gator, with Chance the Snapper topping a list that included Frank Lloyd Bite, Ruth Gator Ginsburg and Croc Obama.<\/p>\n<p>By securing foundation funding for three new positions, Block Club recently boosted its newsroom staff to 12 full-time employees:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div id=\"attachment_22613\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/2019\/08\/12\/block-club-chicago-snaps-neighborhood-news-fans\/maple-walker\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-22613\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22613\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-22613\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-150x150.jpg 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-300x300.jpg 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-768x768.jpg 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-500x500.jpg 500w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-1200x1200.jpg 1200w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-400x400.jpg 400w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-800x800.jpg 800w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-200x200.jpg 200w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-57x57.jpg 57w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-72x72.jpg 72w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-114x114.jpg 114w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker-144x144.jpg 144w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Maple-Walker.jpg 1242w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-22613\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maple Walker<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Maple Walker,<\/strong> a former journalism and media coordinator at the MacArthur Foundation, was named director of development and community engagement. As the startup's first non-reporter hire, her position is partially funded by a grant from the McCormick Foundation. Walker will work with Block Club\u2019s leadership team to expand its efforts with foundations, individual donors and corporations, as well as to engage with subscribers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pascal Sabino,<\/strong> former environmental editor for the nonprofit Free Spirit Media, was hired as a reporter to cover the Austin, North Lawndale and Garfield Park neighborhoods. He\u2019s a Report for America fellow, with additional funding from the Field Foundation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maxwell Evans,<\/strong> who worked for the State News and the Capital News Service in East Lansing, Michigan, was hired as a reporter to cover Hyde Park, Woodlawn and South Shore. His position is funded by a grant from the Joyce Foundation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\"Local news is so important to us at Block Club Chicago,\u201d Walker said. \u201cOur subscribers share our passion. And we know there are individual donors out there who believe in the power of local journalism and will help us grow and sustain this type of work.\"<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/2019\/08\/09\/robservations-blackout-ends-cbs-att-kiss-make\/#comments\">Friday\u2019s comment of the day:<\/a> <strong>Robert Manewith:<\/strong> <em>Thursday's comment from Bob Roberts [formerly] of WBBM-AM News is right on point. We're never going back to the era of \"The Front Page,\" but the competition of five or six newspapers served the public by keeping competitors on their toes and providing an array of opinion. Just consider that Marshall Field started a morning paper to challenge Robert R. McCormick. I read four daily papers until I couldn't anymore, because only two remained. Let's not lose more. And let's keep broadcast news filling that void, even though the attention span of most viewers and listeners \u2014 who still watch or hear a newscast \u2014 doesn't allow broadcast journalists the time for the depth of reporting so often needed. The more voices the better, the more investigation the better the public is served.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22615\" style=\"width: 790px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/2019\/08\/12\/block-club-chicago-snaps-neighborhood-news-fans\/chance-the-snapper\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-22615\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22615\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-22615\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chance-the-Snapper-1024x775.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"780\" height=\"590\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chance-the-Snapper-1024x775.jpg 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chance-the-Snapper-300x227.jpg 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chance-the-Snapper-768x581.jpg 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chance-the-Snapper-500x378.jpg 500w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chance-the-Snapper-150x113.jpg 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chance-the-Snapper-400x303.jpg 400w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chance-the-Snapper-800x605.jpg 800w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chance-the-Snapper-200x151.jpg 200w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Chance-the-Snapper.jpg 1178w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-22615\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chance the Snapper<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A wayward alligator in the Humboldt Park lagoon \u2014 as well as generous grants from three local foundations \u2014 are making this a great summer for Block Club Chicago. On Friday the nonprofit subscription-based digital news site, founded by former editors of DNAinfo Chicago, exceeded 20 million page views since its launch in June 2018.... <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2019\/08\/12\/block-club-chicago-snaps-neighborhood-news-fans\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&#8594;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22612"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22612"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22622,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22612\/revisions\/22622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}