Award-winning Chicago journalist Jim Daley is taking over the Digital News Editor role at The TRiiBE following the departure of Andrew Davis, who stepped down for personal reasons.
Daley joins The TRiiBE after a year at the Chicago Reader, where he edited more than 150 stories, oversaw more than a dozen investigations, produced the first-ever voter guide to Chicago’s Police District Council races, restructured the alternative paper’s news and commentary sections, started the first column in a Chicago newspaper by an incarcerated writer and managed partnerships with several community outlets, including The TRiiBE.
He can be reached at jim@thetriibe.com.
“I’m thrilled to be joining this team of such talented journalists,” Daley said. “I have long admired The TRiiBE’s editorial vision, and the partnerships we’ve built together have been extremely rewarding. I’m really grateful for the chance to be a part of such an outstanding organization.”
The TRiiBE launched in 2017 with a vision to reshape the narrative of Black Chicago through innovative and solutions-driven journalism.
At The TRiiBE, Daley will work closely with editor-in-chief Tiffany Walden, multimedia reporter Tonia Hill, social media producer Tyger Ligon and a network of freelance contributors.
Daley has been a close friend and collaborator of The TRiiBE since 2020. He guest edited The TRiiBE’s midterm anniversary interview with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and has co-published multiple stories with The TRiiBE, including political coverage and investigations of the Cook County Sheriff’s electronic monitoring program.
“It’s been a joy working with Jim in a collaborative capacity for the past two years. Needless to say, I am beyond thrilled for him to join our TRiiBE team,” editor-in-chief Tiffany Walden said. “Jim is a brilliant mind who is passionate about uplifting marginalized voices and exposing systemic ills that continue to keep Chicago’s Black and brown communities overpoliced and in high rates of poverty. His track record as a tenacious reporter speaks for itself. I’m confident that he will be a dynamic force on The TRiiBE’s editorial team, and will help take our news coverage to the next level.”
Prior to joining the Chicago Reader, Daley worked as the politics editor and interim managing editor for South Side Weekly. During his tenure, the community newspaper won a Peter Lisagor award for its June 2020 issue, “Chicago Reacts to the Killing of George Floyd,” and another for his investigation into the Chicago police’s use of the city’s gun-violence prevention center and CPD’s press office to surveil political protestors.
“I got to know Jim’s work when he was at South Side Weekly. I marveled at the visionary coverage and layouts they produced to help document the historic 2020 uprisings,” publisher Morgan Elise Johnson said. “As a friend and collaborator with The TRiiBE, Jim’s talent, thoughtfulness and intrepid approach to journalism has strengthened our work by proximity in ways that we cannot measure. To work with someone who truly lives for this work— the anti-racism work that we are doing within our industry— is an honor and a privilege.”
The TRiiBE is owned and operated by Morgan Elise Johnson (publisher), Tiffany Walden (editor-in-chief) and David Elutilo (head of operations); all three are alums of Northwestern University. Since its launch, The TRiiBE has earned three 2021 Peter Lisagor Awards, a 2020 CHIRBy Award, a 2019 ADWEEK Rising Brand Stars of Chicago Award and more.