Even if they’re often behind the scenes, good editors make good journalism possible. Join us to learn about the ins and outs of the editing process, including information about what to look for when revising a piece and navigating relationships with writers.
Presenters
As a WBEZ editor, Cate Cahan works with reporters and producers to conceive and research stories, edits scripts and digital copy, and organizes long-term projects, including series. Cate joined WBEZ in 1998 as editor for Eight Forty-Eight, then WBEZ's weekday morning newsmagazine. She's played a number of key roles here, including as interim news director and metro editor of beat reporters in community bureaus, and in business, politics, science, criminal and legal affairs, education, urban affairs and arts. Because she works with excellent reporters and producers she has received numerous local, regional and national awards. Before coming to WBEZ, she worked as editorial director and later planning editor for the local CBS news station, WBBM.
She’s also been a magazine editor and worked as a newspaper reporter, which she still sometimes misses. Cate has a M.A. in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Olivia Stovicek is a journalist and scientist based in Chicago. She’s edited for the South Side Weekly since 2014, with stints as everything from Stage & Screen editor to managing editor, and is currently a senior editor. Olivia is also a contributing editor for The Trouble, an online magazine focused on climate change politics, and a member of City Bureau’s Documenters program. Before returning to lab work with a job in immunology research, Olivia completed a reporting fellowship at Injustice Watch focused on investigative reporting on the criminal legal system and judges. Olivia’s interests in science and journalism converge in both disciplines’ dedication to seeking and sharing truth, and she is particularly interested in using these skills to shed light on systemic injustice and interrogate the position of objectivity in both science and journalism.