College of Media | Journalism | Alumni Notes

Dave Wischnowsky '98 JOURN, long-time news blogger and the force behind The Wisch List, launched a new site oddchicagophotos.com, filled with entertaining Chicago- or Illinois-related photos. "We love everything about Chicago! The good, bad, and the odd. If it's odd, we'll take a photo of it and share it with you here."

Justin Breen '99 JOURN was recently promoted to Assistant Managing Editor at The Times of Northwest Indiana. Breen previously served as Sports Editor at the newspaper for four-plus years. Breen currently plans Daily and Sunday A1 centerpiece stories, in addition to updating the newspaper's website, nwi.com. He also was selected to direct the photography department.

Army Lt. Matt Spartz '08 JOURN, a lifelong Lombard resident, was deployed to Afghanistan in May with the 101st Airborne Division. He is submitting occasional reports for the Daily Herald. Read more...

Brian Paruch '95 JOURN, whose Chicago radio nicknames over the years have ranged from “The Whipping Boy” to “King Paruch,” could be ready for a new one. Starting Oct. 18, he’ll succeed Mark Suppelsa as news anchor for Eric Ferguson and Kathy Hart’s top-rated morning show on Bonneville International hot adult-contemporary WTMX-FM (101.9). Paruch has been at CBS Radio sports/talk WSCR-AM (670) since 2006.

Cecilia Marizu '10 JOURN was profiled by the Big Ten Network's Give Big campaign in a video about her work with Hometown Heroes helping students excel in and out of the classroom from Illinois to Kenya. Through her work with Hometown heroes, Cece co-founded Students Leading Social Change, a non-profit organization that raised funds to build a school in Kenya. Cece also traveled to Kenya to help start the school’s construction and meet its future students. Cece is back at U of I as a graduate student in the Educational Policy Studies program. She is continuing her work with Hometown Heroes as a graduate assistant in the Athletic Academic Services Department.

Watch video on the Give Big site.