Alex Kotlowitz Wins Emmy for 'The Interrupters'

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Alex Kotlowitz -- senior lecturer at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and long-time writer-in-residence at Northwestern’s Center for the Writing Arts -- picked up his first Emmy Award Tuesday (Oct. 1) for “The Interrupters.” He co-produced the documentary about community peacemakers working with a Chicago anti-violence organization.

Kotlowitz’s 1991 book, “There Are No Children Here,” prompted a nationwide discussion about children growing up in poverty in America. This year, Kotlowitz won wide attention for “Harper High,” a WBEZ radio series he co-wrote about a Chicago high school recovering from a year in which 29 current or recent students were shot.

His radio story “Mike and Victor: A Family Story” recently won a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. That story chronicled the experiences of a 24-year-old single white man and a 9-year-old African-American boy as they become a family despite resistance from the courts and personal challenges.