June 6, 2022

Sam Cholke joins the INN team as manager, distribution and audience growth.

In this role, he will work initially on INN’s projects with Microsoft Start, SmartNews, Apple News and various other third-party platforms. Later this year, he will begin working on other strategies and programs to help INN members with their audience growth strategies.

Prior to joining INN, Sam was project manager for the Metro Media Lab at the Medill School at Northwestern University, researching and developing strategies around news audiences. He was also director of the Local Media Association’s Solving for Chicago collaborative and reported on Chicago for 15 years for various news outlets in the city.

“We’re so thrilled to have someone with Sam’s background and expertise at INN working to help INN members connect with their audiences,” said Jonathan Kealing, INN’s chief network officer. “He’s going to be able to jump right in to help members expand their audiences and their revenue, while helping develop long-term strategies and resources that put the INN Network on a path to greater growth.”

This position was made possible with support from Microsoft and the Google News Initiative. Sam is based in Chicago.