Safety Through Solidarity: Chicago’s Approach to High-Risk Reporting

Over the past year, cities including Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Chicago have faced escalating challenges reporting on ICE and law-enforcement activity. This feature session focuses on Chicago, where a group of local, independent newsrooms responded by forming a flexible, cross-newsroom safety collaboration to navigate increasingly volatile reporting conditions. The session will examine how this informal yet coordinated approach strengthened reporting capacity, mitigated risk, and provided critical support—particularly for freelance journalists—during high-stakes coverage. Drawing on direct, on-the-ground experience, panelists will share practical strategies and candid lessons for leading teams through unpredictable and dangerous situations.

The Chicago collaboration offers a timely model for local news ecosystems seeking to prioritize collective care, demonstrating that for small and independent outlets, safety is not an individual responsibility but a shared one.