ChicagoTalks is a non-profit, local news source featuring stories from all corners of Chicagoland. Our reporters are budding journalists learning to cover various Chicagoland communities and the people in each of them. We also publish creative work from students from across the college, sharing their essays, reviews, fiction and more. 

Founded in the fall of 2006, Columbia College Chicago professors Barbara Iverson and Suzanne McBride, with grants from J-Lab and the Knight Foundation, established the site as a working lab for journalism students. Our goal is to showcase the voices of talented, aspiring journalists and allow them to gain professional experience they can add to their portfolio. 

We welcome interested students to submit work from both in and outside of the classroom. ChicagoTalks looks for stories from all of Chicagoland. 

Editor-in-chief : In August 2026, Triniti Waxman will step in as editor-in-chief of ChicagoTalks. She is a senior at Columbia College.

Faculty advisor: Betsy Edgerton, associate professor, Journalism, School of Communication and Culture, is the faculty advisor for ChicagoTalks. Contact her at bedgerton@colum.edu

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