Kate Rockwood - Freelance Writer

Rising Dough

katerock — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:45:34 -0400

Mention Panera Bread and fans are as likely to praise the free Wi-Fi as they are to gush about the Asiago cheese bagels. And that, execs at the $2.6 billion restaurant chain say, is the point. Originally published October 2009, Fast Company magazine

Applaud: Congratulations, Graduates!

katerock — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:20:35 -0400

It's diploma season again, which means not only that a new batch of students will soon be facing the reality of the workplace but also that universities will be handing out honorary degrees. A look at several honorees—and how they earned their doctorates.

Originally published June 2008, Fast Company magazine

Midwest Current

katerock — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:21:01 -0400

In Fall 2007, I acted as editor-in-chief of Midwest Current, an internationally distributed launch prototype and demonstration website printed by the Medill School of Journalism. The 16-member graduate team produced a bimonthly regional travel publication aimed at smart, sophisticated travelers. In addition to the 58-page prototype and website, we crafted a media kit, business plan, and investment presentation, which we delivered to an editorial panel at the offices of Meredith Corporation.

How We Compare

katerock — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:21:26 -0500

Not too many years ago, an experienced linguist could listen to a local news broadcast and guess by the announcer's accent where the show originated. That's probably unlikely today. The relentless mobility of Americans and the booming mass media, among other things, have scoured many of the regional distinctions across the country. With that in mind, we thought it would be interesting to see how the nation's five biggest cities compared across a range of business, social, and cultural categories...

Originally published February 2006, Chicago magazine

Out of the Past

katerock — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 01:43:47 -0400

December 7, 1941, may be a date that has lived in infamy, but for many Japanese-Americans it’s no more important than February 19, 1942. On that day President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcibly relocating 120,000 Japanese immigrants and their American-born children to internment camps in remote parts of interior states like Idaho and Arkansas...

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Originally published March 8, 2007, Time Out Chicago

Review: Uncle Vanya

katerock — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:55:37 -0500

Most of us expect a heart-wrenching journey of loneliness and desperation when we look to the great Russian masters, but rarely do we get to enjoy ourselves—much less laugh out loud—along the way. "Uncle Vanya," the latest work mounted by Court Theatre at the Museum of Contemporary Art, delivers a boisterous and revitalized presentation of Anton Chekov's classic tale that both tugs the heart strings and tickles the funny bone...

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Originally published January 23, 2007, Centerstage Chicago

Review: American Genius

katerock — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 14:00:13 -0500

Skin may be the body’s largest organ, but it takes on epic proportions in Lynne Tillman’s latest novel, American Genius: A Comedy, a dazzling and often dizzying meditation on memory and meaningful connection. Lingering in a facility never clearly defined (it emerges as something between a New Age spa and a mental health hospital), the main character, whose name we eventually learn is Helen, obsesses over every aspect of her problematic epidermis: psoriasis, moisturizers, alopecia, waxing, scars, vermiculations, facials, the way this or that cloth feels against her sensitive skin...

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Originally published January 2007, VenusZine

Out of the Ashes

katerock — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:00:16 -0400

For years, artist Dan Peterman had labored to make something of the building at 6100 South Blackstone Avenue. In the mid-’80s, he joined a group that ran different ventures at the site, including arts studios and a recycling center. But he saw that the structure—which took up about a quarter of a city block—was falling into a state of disrepair: “It was in need of some serious attention,” he says. So, in the mid-1990s, Peterman began the process of buying the building and clearing out the recycling detritus that filled it...

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Originally published October 12, 2006, Time Out Chicago

Growth Points

katerock — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:03:07 -0400

You can see it in their stats and in their cityscapes: These 12 Fast Cities around the globe are thriving. We'll be watching these nodes of creativity and innovation this year and beyond—we're expecting big business and big things.

Originally published June 2008, Fast Company

Chicago Soul Sidebar

katerock — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:43:54 -0400

Chicago is the creative capital of the universe. Discuss.

"Big yes! A great creative place has to have great art, great food, and a combination of beauty and grit to be inspired by. Chicago has all of that." —Brad Morris, Second City ensemble member

Originally published June 2008, Fast Company