Ebert Fellows Named

Congratulations to the three Ebert Fellows for 2017-18. These students were chosen from nearly two dozen who applied for the fellowships.

Madeline Galassi explored the entertainment side of journalism when she spent a semester interning at Cosmopolitan magazine. She says, “while working with writers and editors that submersed themselves in pop culture, film and visual production, I realized combining these themes with my love for writing was exactly what I wanted to do.” This past summer she broadened her skills in journalism as a social media intern at the Chicago Tribune. She also works at The Daily Illini.

Tyler Panlilio is a journalism sophomore who works for The Daily Illini as an opinions columnist and for WPGU as a web writer. He says he believes that, when done right, a movie is the most humanizing art form there is. His goal is to write film essays to help provide some clarity on why movies provoke such strong responses and how they relate to the human condition as a whole.

Niani Scott is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Journalism, minoring in Political Science and African Studies. She is a Campus Editor-at-Large for HuffPost, contributes to The Daily Illini, is part of Eusa Nia and 100 Strong, and served as the Editor-in-Chief of the school magazine at British International College, the secondary school she attended while studying abroad in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Ebert Fellows have the privilege of working closely with Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips, who will serve as adviser and mentor. The goal is to help promising students prepare for an increasingly competitive arts journalism job market. The Fellows develop and strengthen their writing, radio, video and storytelling skills across a broad multimedia platform, in collaboration with Illinois Public Media, the Daily Illini, and other outlets. Michael works with them to help shape their arts coverage, and introduce them to arts journalists from Chicago Public Radio, the Chicago Tribune and beyond. 

Pictured are Niani Scott, Michael Phillips, Madeline Galassi and Tyler Panlilio.