Health and science storyteller
Maddie Burakoff
About Me
Hi! My name is Maddie Burakoff and I'm a journalist with a passion for soaking up new stories and sharing them with the world. I'm especially interested in writing about health, science and the environment.
I'm currently working as a digital reporter for Spectrum News 1 in Milwaukee, covering public health and other local stories as part of Report for America — a national journalism service organization. Since joining Spectrum, I've worked to help our audience understand the COVID-19 pandemic with science explainers, data reporting and local updates. I've bolstered our environmental coverage and highlighted how climate change is already impacting our state, and covered key stories in our community from racial justice protests to the 2020 election in Wisconsin.
I graduated in 2020 from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with combined bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism, plus a minor in Spanish. In the past I've also freelanced for the New York Times COVID-19 data team and interned with Smithsonian magazine and CNN's Atlanta Bureau. I also spent years working different editorial roles at The Daily Northwestern, from heading up our campus coverage to overseeing our arts and culture magazine.
So — thanks for stopping by, and please feel free to reach out if there's anything I can do for you!
Featured Work
Wisconsin Researchers Try Out A Quicker, Easier Coronavirus Test (Spectrum News 1)
"For Chris Mason, fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has become a family affair. Mason, a professor of genetics at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been working for months to hone a faster, cheaper coronavirus test — one that could help us get to the broad-scale testing level experts say we'll need. But now, he's brought his research back to his hometown of Racine, Wis., at the request of a very important person: His brother, Cory Mason, the city's mayor."
Rising Temperatures Bring Health Risks For Milwaukee, And Some Bear a Bigger Burden (Spectrum News 1)
"Hotter temperatures spell out trouble for the city — and especially for communities that are already vulnerable. 'High heat index isn't just a number,' Dr. Caitlin Rublee said. 'I hear all of the ambulance sirens, I think about all of the patients I treat, especially from specific ZIP codes within our city.'"
365 Days Of COVID-19: The Year In Pandemic Science (Spectrum News 1)
"One year ago, no one had ever heard of COVID-19. That's because, technically, it didn't exist. Even as reports of a mystery illness started to pop up in China on New Year's Eve, it would be days before scientists figured out a new coronavirus was the cause; weeks before they gave the disease its name; and months before they declared COVID-19 a pandemic, putting the whole world on high alert."
Get in touch!
maddieburakoff (at) gmail (dot) com
(949) 433-1087