Alum
George Papajohn
Midwest editor at ProPublica
George Papajohn, BA’82, joined ProPublica in August of 2021 as the Midwest editor.
“I’m from Chicago. I went to Indiana University, where I majored in journalism and minored in English and worked a lot of hours at the Indiana Daily Student, mainly in sports. I covered the 1981 basketball championship and then quickly retired from sports after realizing that I’d perhaps reached the pinnacle at that point — but also thinking there was perhaps more to journalism than interviewing athletes in locker rooms.
I began to make a transformation into news. I immediately had a postgraduate internship at the Chicago Tribune, so I worked 12 weeks on the Tribune’s copy desk. I didn’t want to have a career as a copy editor, but I had those skills and I realized it’d be a foot in the door in my hometown newspaper. They wanted to hire me for the copy desk, and I said sure.
About 18 months into my career, I went to the suburbs as a reporter. At that time in my career, I just loved a good story. I loved being able to find a way to explain people’s lives, to take people on a journey through a story.
One of my goals was to eventually work at the Chicago Tribune Magazine, which was a weekly Sunday insert, and do longer-form writing. I was able to do that for a time. I did some investigative reporting, but was never a full-time investigative reporter. It wasn’t until I joined the projects team later in life that I became a full-time investigative reporter as an editor. I became the investigations editor at the Chicago Tribune, did that for a number of years, and went to Buzzfeed News as an investigations editor for a much shorter time.
I joined ProPublica in August of 2021 as the Midwest editor, so I oversee our Midwest operations. As an editor, you’re helping decide what seeds are we going to plant — what stories, what ideas. You’re deciding which ideas warrant attention and then helping bring them to fruition. It’s a very collaborative process. For students hoping to enter the industry in the next few years, I would say don’t be discouraged. I think they can have a rewarding career.”
Written By Erin Stafford
Photos By Erik Hunter