My latest work
The following is a list of my most recent work, including interactives, stories and websites.
Who I Am
I'm Chris Kirk. I'm a programmer-journalist working at the intersection of journalism and technology. My mission is to tell stories, and my tools include more than just notepads, pens and cameras. For projects large and small, I aim to push the boundaries of digital journalism and innovative storytelling.
I learned HTML as a kid, before it was cool to spend hours a day on the Web. Ever since, I've been exploring ways to illustrate information in innovative, navigable and fun ways. To do it, I've taught myself Javascript, Python, PHP, XML and more.
I graduated from Northwestern University in March and am currently working full-time in Washington D.C. as the interactives editor of Slate.com.
My Background
I began freelancing as a Web designer in 2007. Since then, I've served more than 10 clients.
In 2008 I began attending Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. I majored in journalism and political science and graduated March.
After my freshman year, I worked as a full-time summer news intern for Evanston Now, an online newspaper in Evanston, Ill. I covered many subjects, including crime, community events and city council meetings, and produced 11 video stories.
"He contributed significant product development work to our project, utilizing his technical and journalistic skills. He is smart technically and editorially, he can write everything from Python to PHP to any HTML/CSS you ever need. He's an extremely fast and reliable employee."
– Anthony Moor, Director of Editorial Operations at Yahoo!
I spent the two following summers as a full-time editorial intern at Yahoo on a team of engineers and journalists tasking with developing new hyperlocal news products. I collected, managed, curated and strategized content. I used Python to acquire and crunch data about the 210 DMAs. I also built front-page packages viewed by millions of users.
During the school year, I worked in many capacities at The Daily Northwestern, including photo editor, online special projects editor and online managing editor. My work earned me a First Place award for photo essays in a daily newspaper from the Illinois College Press Association in 2010 and the First Place Multimedia Feature award from the Associated Collegiate Press in 2011.
In the fall, I interned for 11 weeks full-time at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette building interactives. Using Javascript and jQuery, I built compelling interactives that could easily be repurposed by others.