School of Journalism Welcomes Reporter and Data Journalist Peter Nickeas as Visiting Professor

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Peter Nickeas

The Center for Ethics in Journalism at the School of Journalism and Strategic Media welcomes Visiting Distinguished Professor of Ethics in Journalism Peter Nickeas this fall. Nickeas, a specialist in data journalism and investigative reporting, is a former Chicago Tribune reporter as well as a senior writer for CNN.

Nickeas visited campus Sept. 11-15, and he will return later this fall to continue his role as visiting professor. Nickeas will give lectures and facilitate discussions with students regarding the journalistic practices and ethical dilemmas from his work.  

Nickeas will speak about the ethical guidance he has given CNN in handling traumatic news videos, the shooting and homicide database he's created for the Chicago Tribune and his help in reprioritizing explanatory journalism in stories of violence.   

"In journalism, no one can out-hustle Peter Nickeas, making him a perfect fit with our award-winning faculty and students," said Bret Schulte, chair of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media. "He can write, shoot video and stills, deploy social media for reporting and scrape numbers to identify trends. His work as a storyteller and data-driven reporter in Chicago helped drive home to distant policymakers the profound impact of the city's violence." 

Nickeas received his Bachelor of Arts from Lewis University and his Master of Arts from the University of Illinois. Afterward, Nickeas wrote for the Times of Northwest Indiana and the Casper Star-Tribune, where he performed investigative work into daily government, cleaned and queried data, and examined low-income housing. For the majority of the 2010s, Nickeas worked as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune before going on to CNN as a senior writer for two years.

Nickeas has been awarded fellowships at John Jay College (Guggenheim Fellowship), Columbia University (Ochberg Fellow) and Harvard University (Fellow at the Nieman Foundation).

"Nickeas possesses unique skills that are especially valuable now with increasing concern about the proper role of digital technology," said Raymond McCaffrey, director of the Center for Ethics in Journalism. "He is especially qualified to teach students about the power of data journalism as well as the ethical challenges that journalists can face when using new technology to help report the news."  

The Center for Ethics in Journalism is excited to have such an experienced reporter teach students about the changing world of journalism. Nickeas will return later in the semester as to continue his role as guest lecturer.