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Fredy Gareis Freelance Journalist
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Home Media: Der Spiegel, Berlin Guest Media: Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL Fredy Gareis is a freelance reporter based in Berlin. He has worked for a variety of outlets such as the weekly news magazines Stern, Tagesspiegel, Emotion, Badische Zeitung and Stern TV. A vital part of his focus is on undercover reporting. Fredy broke a major story about the Scientology Church in Berlin, where he spent five months undercover before publishing his findings through TV and print. Fredy has also investigated the meat industry and cyber crime. Fredy is a restless character of Russian-German descent, who worked as a barkeeper and cab driver to finance his extensive travels after high school. Having lived in all of Germany’s
major cities, as well as in Italy and in Switzerland, he went on to receive a degree in U.S. history from the University of Hamburg. He is especially fascinated with the myths of self-reliance, the frontier and the Cold War era. After a stint working with a Christian television station, Fredy Gareis was admitted to the German school of journalism in Munich (DJS), where he received his degree in 2007. He sees the Burns fellowship as an exciting opportunity to discuss the future of journalism with American colleagues and is looking forward to covering stories from all corners of the U.S. for German readers.
The Arthur F. Burns Fellowship Program 2009
IJP
Report by Fredy Gareis The Chicago Tribune is so prepared for the arrival of the annual Burns Fellow that the first thing they did was providing me with a bike, complete with lock and helmet (which I could not bring myself to wear, despite crazy Chicago drivers), and a guide book to Chicago. From then on, my stint at that traditional outlet was a blast. Living down south in Hyde Park, Obama’s old neighbourhood, my commute to the Tribune Tower downtown was a blissful half hour bike ride along Lake Michigan. Although I have been to the United States several times in the past, I somehow never made it to Chicago. It was a pleasant surprise, then, to find out that this city boasts some of the best lifestyle to be found in the US. It offers everything big New York City does, but without the stress and the congestion of people. Also, Chicago is a city that is best enjoyed outside, and Chicagoans never go short on mentioning that there is no place like Chicago in the summer. With all those miles of undeveloped lakefront and an absolutely bikable city, they may actually be right. However, Chicago is also a very segregated city – a fact that not only surprised but also disturbed me. To put it simply: the north is white, the south is black. The northern neighbourhoods are all very developped and gentrified, reminding me often of neighbourhoods in Berlin. Each neighbourhood has ist own atmosphere, there are all the facilities and services, restaurants and bars and galleries, shops – you name it. But once you cross the line to the South, everything becomes more spread out. You see less street life, more fore-closed homes, more police, abonded buildings and generally less of everything that constitutes civic and municipal life. That division is felt by Chicagoans, too, and lots of colleagues at the Tribune agreed that Chicago is a city that sill has lots of work left when it comes to racial relations, President Obama or not. Of course, Obamas election was still reverberating at every corner in Chicago, especially down south in Hyde Park where he used to live. His house was just around the corner from mine, secured by several police cars and unmarked government cars. One day I went for a run, oblivious to the whereabouts of Obama’s Chicago home, and ran straight into his street, where the cops stopped me cold and told me to run somewhere else. Rumor has it that the house adjacent to Obamas went up double in price because of the surrounding security that is suddenly provided. 149
The Arthur F. Burns Fellowship Program 2009
IJP
Walk in to any drugstore in Hyde Park and you can buy sweatshirts, base ball caps and key chains – all with the image of Barack Obama and his promise of hope. Browsing the little shops in Hyde Park, there is almost none that fails to mention that Obama, or his wife and kids, came in to shop for shoes or books or sat down for a hair cut. Still, there is more to Chicago than North and South and Black and White. There are several vibrant neighbourhoods, like the Mexican, the Indian, the Chinese or the Polish. All were fun to explore and the Tribune provided me with ample oppertunity to get to know the city and ist feel. Geoff Brown of the Features Department, where I was posted, made it clear from the beginning that he not only wanted me to have a good work experience but also really dive into the city life. I could not have asked for more. Everybody at the Tribune was most accomodating and extremely open in talking about the paper, the work – or baseball. As mentionend, I was posted with the Features Department, more specifically with the Sunday Magazine. I was amazed at the amount of staff that is producing for the features department and how it was outfitted. There was even an own kitchen to try out recepies for the eating section. For every sub section there was an expert, be it Jazz or shopping. I had access to all meetings and conferences and, in the beginning, was introduced as the annual Burns Fellow from Germany. I soon scored my first assignement, which took me Milwaukee, 90 Miles north of Chicago, in Wisconsin, where I should research a piece about the remains of the once vibrant German culture. That was just fitting, as already in Chicago about every second person you talk to has German roots. So I went to Milwaukee and met with sausage makers, beer brewers and even went to the annual German-American day, where my surreal experience was complete, when the Rivercity orchestra stroke up the German National Anthem – and people started singing along, in dirndls and lederhosen, nonetheless. Another long story I did was seeking out things I missed about Germany in Chicago. This research took me all over the city, hunting down the best Schnitzel, the best wine, the best outdside dining, and so on. Again, this was a great oppertunity to get to know the city and speak with old timers. The mood in the features department, however, was not the best. The amount of staff was axed dramatically and still layoffs were common. Of course that not only applied to the features department but to the newsroom as a whole. To keep up with the chang150
The Arthur F. Burns Fellowship Program 2009
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ing media landscape the Tribune is employing a series of actions. I learned about them while meeting with Gerry Kern, the managing editor. To get a grip on the young readers, the Tribune has started „Red Eye“ a publication that is distributed for free early in the mornings, focusing on advice where to grab the cheapest drinks and food, sports and celebrities. According to Kern, „Red Eye“ is a big success. While I was at the Tribune, the site „Chicago Now“ was launched, which is supposed to bundle all blogs the Tribune publishes. At times these efforts seemed a little frantic to me, and also, not very innovative. People I talked to who have read the Tribune for a long time, told me that it is not what it used to be. With the coverage now extremely local, no more correspondents and with so many pages devoted to entertainment, some described the Tribune as a mock version of earlier times. Indeed I sometimes felt I was holding a yellow press publication, filled from cover to cover with inane stories. However, one of the Tribune efforts to boost readership is a beefed-up department of watchdog journalism that is supposed to focus more on social justice as well as on all consumer issues. All in all, I had a great time in Chicago. In the city and at the Tribune. Being with an outlet that is so used to hosting a German fellow really made for a smooth ride. I definitely learned extensive amounts on life in the US and working at a local paper, which the Tribune now is, even if the mighty tower downton with all the inscriptions glorifiying the press speaks of other times. Everybody at the Tribune I spoke to was very open and really helpful with a genuine interest in my work. And of course everybody loves Germany – and its beer. After those 9 weeks, when it finally was time to leave Chicago and the Tribune, I was sadder than I thought. For the last time I rode my bike along the lake shore approaching the mighty skyline minute by minute until it towers in front of you and you have to enter that concrete jungle. This image will always stay with me. It is one thing to travel to places like this but being given the oppertunity to actually live and work in said places is a game on a whole other level – and something I am extremely grateful for. Despite my studies of the American history and several holidays in the US, nothing gave me better insight into American affairs, psyche and living than the Burns Fellowship. The experiences I have made, the friends and the professional contacts I have made during this time are invaluable. 151