Mark Holden Schipper   
[email protected]

Writer, Reporter, Sports Writer, Photographer, Editor, Aspiring Filmmaker

Picture
                                                                       

                                                                                        EDUCATION
​                                                                   
                                        Graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.), 2008
                                        Bachelor’s Degree in History through the College of Letters and Sciences
At the time I went to U.C.L.A it was—and I believe remains—the number one public university in the United States, and somewhere in the top fifteen worldwide, according to multiple ranking platforms. Known as a so-called Public Ivy League University, it was the most applied to school in America and in the top ten most selective in terms of admissions. I worked hard to get into U.C.L.A., worked hard while I was there, and am proud of the history degree I earned from the College of Letters and Sciences. 
Reporter with DNAinfo Chicago (now known as Block Club Chicago)
233 North Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL
November 2014 - Present 
  • Freelance reporter covering general assignments across Chicago. Feature story writer. Video producer. Worked against deadlines competing directly with the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. DNA is a new-school news gathering organization with outlets in New York and Chicago. The outlet is unique in that it demands all of the ethics and professionalism of print newspapers while requiring the reporter to sniff out ground-level pieces on any and all issues affecting his or her territory and quickly turn around text, photographic and video content for publication. 
  • Experienced digital radio contributor as a result of talking about my stories with our digital production team and radio hosts, Jon Hansen and Matt Bubala.
Chicago Reader
350 West Mart Center Chicago, IL
  • Contributed a nearly 5,000 word investigative piece on the behind the scenes machinations of both Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office during one of the most famous death penalty exoneration cases in United State's history. 
  • Contributed a piece on an upcoming documentary "Insert Coin" detailing the wild, early days at the legendary Midway Games in Chicago. 
Chicago Magazine
777 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL
  • Freelance contributor at the premier city and culture magazine in Chicago. 
Chicago Tribune
435 North Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL
  • Front page story in the Chicago Tribune in April, 2014 on the main suspect in a group of bank robberies. Unique story in that it was an elderly gentleman who had been shown leniency by the court system for an earlier armed robbery. He had an unusual, almost kindly method of robbing banks, which I discovered in a police report, and the story was compelling enough to make the front page. Written against deadline. 
Chicago Review of Books
  • Review of Jon Eig's biography of Muhammad Ali
Arc-Digital
  • Contributed a longish, academic-style piece comparing Michael Jordan to the 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche 
​5th Down College Football
  • Commissioned a design and built on my own this new college football property. Because of difficulty selling free-lance work in 2020, I built my own home as a place to showcase my work for future editors and publications. The site will focus on college football history, news, and offer opinions on the great American game. The build up of this website comes at a time when I am working on a college football book to be published at the end of fall 2021. 
Reporter with Inside Publications
6221 North Clark St. Chicago, IL
December 2009 - 2015
  • Police reporter, general reporter, feature writer, photographer and back-up editor for three enduring, old-school weekly print newspapers, Inside-Booster, News-Star and Skyline, published and distributed across Chicago’s North Side, from the border with Evanston, Illinois all the way through the Loop downtown.
  • Worked as the newspaper's managing editor: A job entailing close work with the design department in laying out sheets and organizing three newspapers against deadline. Developed leadership and management skills as my conception grew of what an editor’s job is in finding and developing stories as opposed to that of a reporter's or columnist's. Organically refined my sense of the how and why of a newspaper or news gathering organization coming together to put out a legitimate news product. Gave me priceless perspective. ​
Video, Interview, and Written Contributions to Professional Documentary: ¡Fiesta!
Pamplona, Spain, 2017
  • I shot video, wrote several pieces, and conducted interviews for a documentary directed by Neal Waters, an award-winning photojournalist based out of the San Francisco, Bay Area. 
  • Participated in multiple on-air segments at WGN Radio to talk about my experiences in Pamplona. 
Columnist and Contributor at Pacific Takes, Bruins Nation, and the national SB CBB site at SB Nation
September 2014 - Present
  • I was brought on to cover the Pacific 12 Conference for one of the only sites on SB’s network exclusively covering West Coast athletics. During the opening fall I took  on Oregon football, following the team all the way to its appearance in the first ever College Football Playoff. Also contributed pieces on UCLA men's basketball. 
  • Wrote a premier feature piece for SB's national college basketball site on UCLA basketball. Also covered UCLA athletics for Bruins Nation. 
AOL-Patch Evanston
  • Located a special fishing program through the parks department and wrote a piece on fishing the shoreline area of Evanston on Lake Michigan. This was a participatory piece—which I have done many times—meant to give the sights, sounds and feeling of what it was like to chase ambush fish from a kayak.
Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report
September 2011 - September 2014
  • Wrote self generated feature pieces on American sports. Promoted to UCLA Basketball Featured Columnist and worked with the editorial staff on generating two pieces a week for the national newsletter. Published 75 total stories before resigning in good standing with an offer to return at any time. Had been offered position of UCLA Football Featured Columnist, in addition to duties with UCLA Basketball, at the time I resigned. 
  Additional Considerations  
  • Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt with five years training the most effective and difficult martial art known to man. More than just a humbling and rewarding art, Jiu-Jitsu gives the practitioner a practical system for learning new skills, becoming the best version of one's self, and priceless insight into how to build a healthy lifestyle.
  • Well traveled in Europe and the United States. Love of exploration and insatiable curiosity for life. Grew up in Iowa City and suburban Minneapolis but spent more than six years following high school graduation living, traveling, exploring and learning across the Western United States from a base in Los Angeles, California, where I earned my college degree. Have lived in Chicago, Illinois since late 2009. 
  • Versatile writer in terms of subject matter, focus, style and length. Want to tell good stories that make readers feel and see. Avid life-long reader. Compulsive movie watcher. Avocation for photography and filmmaking.
  • Studying Spanish at the Cervantes Institute and on my own with the goal of becoming a fluent speaker, reader, and writer.
Proudly powered by Weebly