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MediaEd Club: The Rise of Chicago's Queer Country Music Scene: ‘Country Music is the People’s Music’

In this session of the MediaEd Club, Shelby Hawkins will lead a conversation about building and finding community through public service, and how media can be used as a tool to bring people together. In this conversation, Shelby will delve into the media segment The Rise of Chicago's Queer Country Music Scene: ‘Country Music is the People’s Music.’

The Rise of Chicago’s Queer Country Music Scene is a segment Shelby produced shortly after returning to Chicago, and one of the projects she is most proud of to date. It’s both a segment on “Chicago Tonight” with an accompanying digital article that details the popularity of the genre “queer country” and how it’s gained prominence in an urban metropolis like Chicago. The newsgathering portion for Shelby was also incredibly fun - talking to a professor, musicians and event planners on creating their own spaces, and bringing that niche community to a bigger audience without diluting the message.

Date: Monday, August 5, 2024

Time: 12pm EDT | 5pm BST | 9:30pm IST

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About the Host:

Shelby Hawkins is a Chicago-based journalist who currently works as an associate producer at WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight” and “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices.” Previously, she produced for NPR’s Morning Edition and Up First in Washington, D.C. where she prioritized uplifting marginalized voices. She holds an M.A. in Civic Media from Columbia College Chicago.