The creative process
Who we are
News Mixer was developed by master's students at the Medill School of Journalism (Northwestern University), operating under the name of the Crunchberry Project. We have collaborated with Gazette Communications in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which plans to launch a live version of this site for the people of eastern Iowa in early 2009.
The project benefits from the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which provided scholarship funding for two experienced Web developers who spent the past year studying journalism at Medill and were responsible for News Mixer's software development.
For more information about the project, check out the students’ blog and Prof. Rich Gordon's posts at PBS Idealab.
The team
Brian Boyer
Brian was inspired to pursue a career in journalism by a Knight News Challenge grant. After studying computer science at University of Illinois, he spent eight years designing and developing software and managing software development teams in Chicago. He writes about the intersection of technology and journalism at sixthw.com.
For the Crunchberry Project: Whilst working on News Mixer, Brian was a member of the design, development and project management teams. He led the education of Team Crunchberry on agile software development practices, and wrote a mess of code.
Ryan Mark
Ryan is attending Medill on a scholarship provided by a Knight Foundation News Challenge Grant. While at Medill he has reported on science and technology, and worked on interactive reporting projects. Prior to starting graduate studies, he was lead developer and technology director at ZapTel.com, an award winning consumer telecommunications services company. ZapTel is an Inc500 company and was named one of the 'Top 10 Smartest Small Businesses' by PC Magazine in October 2007. Ryan blogs occasionally at ryan-mark.com.
For the Crunchberry Project: With Kayla Webley, Ryan led and coordinated the Crunchberry team. He was one of the primary software developers on the project and supported the design team.
Angela Nitzke
Angela is studying for a master’s degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism and was a 2008 Carnegie-Knight Journalism Fellow. After graduating with a degree in biology from Denison University, Angela worked as a research technician in neurobiology and psychiatry laboratories at both Northwestern University and the University of Chicago.
For the Crunchberry Project: Angela was part of the consumer insights team responsible for assembling and analyzing user/consumer research from other sources, and overseeing the collection and analysis of user input related to our project, including surveys, interviews and test panels. She used the information to identify and describe the target audience and guide our development of the site to best serve their needs. As a final presentation coordinator, she was responsible for organizing and preparing the formal presentation of our project to professionals and the public. She was also involved in maintaining the class blog.
Joshua Pollock
Born in Cambridge and raised just outside of Boston, Joshua graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2006 with his degree in journalism and English. After graduation, Joshua worked for NBC Universal in Boston, serving as a web producer for the local news outlet. This stint, coupled with another position managing VIP accounts for a telecommunications company, led Joshua to the Medill School at Northwestern University.
For the Crunchberry Project: In addition to his duties as disc jockey and chauffeur, Joshua regularly contributed to the crunchberry blog, and assisted the design and consumer research teams. He also served as a project manager, setting up weekly meetings with our client, and helped manage the team's wiki. Joshua's main contributions can be found in industry research and the final report, where he contributed heavily in addition to serving as one of the editors.
Stuart Tiffen
Stuart reported on business and indie rock music at Medill for the nine months prior to beginning the New Media project in September. Until December 2007 Stuart was an officer in the United States Air Force. He spent five years flying AC-130H gunships as an electronic warfare officer in Afghanistan and points beyond.
For the Crunchberry Project: Stuart worked on consumer insights, design and the final presentation.
Kayla Webley
Kayla is a graduate student in new media at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She was a 2008 Carnegie-Knight Journalism Fellow and has interned at The Portland Oregonian, The Seattle Times, The Scripps Howard News Wire, National Public Radio. Currently, Kayla is the Editor in Chief of The Windy Citizen and a freelance reporter for Vocalo Radio. Her work has also been published by Chicago Public Radio, The Huffington Post, The Rocky Mountain News, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Arizona Daily Star, The Ventura County Star, and HGTV Ideas Magazine. She blogs at kaylawebley.com.
For the Crunchberry Project: Kayla was a co-leader/coordinator of the project and also completed industry research and helped assemble and edit the final report. Her primary task for the project was user interface and design. She and Stuart Tiffen designed, tested and redesigned the three commenting structures. Kayla also designed the homepage, article page and created the look and feel of the site.
Instructors:
Jeremy Gilbert
Jeremy is an assistant professor teaching interactive storytelling, web and print design tools and techniques. Before coming to Medill in the fall of 2008, he lead The Poynter Institute's in rethinking and redesigning it's industry leading website, Poynter Online. Jeremy also worked Design Director and Art Director for the St. Petersburg Times and The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla., redesigning both newspapers. Previously he worked as a user interaction designer and graphic designer for multiple web startups.
For the Crunchberry Project: Jeremy worked with the design team and learned from the development team.
Rich Gordon
Associate Professor Rich Gordon spent 15 years as a reporter and editor at The Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post and The Miami Herald. Along the way, he discovered the joys of computer-assisted reporting and helped spread the gospel of CAR tools to journalists through Investigative Reporters and Editors seminars and conferences. In 1995, he became employee No. 1 for The Herald's new media division, which he led for four years. He joined the Medill faculty in January 2000.
For the Crunchberry Project: Rich directed the class, working with all project teams.