Green ink fills the margins before a story is ever published. A ballpoint pen circles misplaced commas. Arrows connect commas to rewritten sentences. Scrawled cursive fills the empty space.
For more than 40 years, John Kupetz has critiqued journalism the same way. In a digital era, he still prints each story and edits in longhand with a Pilot G2 gel pen.
“Symbolically, green is the color of hope,” Kupetz said. “It’s hope that my students will make a life for themselves and that they’ve learned a little bit about gathering, organizing and communicating information.”
Every edit follows the same process. Kupetz reads for an overall impression before moving line by line through the story. He marks each page by hand, often spending multiple days on one set of stories. His objective goes beyond correcting mistakes.
“Helping students get better in what they do, that’s my goal,” Kupetz said.
Pranya Duvvuru of Eagan, Minnesota, who is in Kupetz’s instructor group, said she had never been edited on paper before.
“His comments really helped me see how I wanted the story to actually look instead of how I wrote it,” Duvvuru said. “He always ended comments with, ‘Pranya, I promise you’re a good writer. Just relax and keep writing.’”
His conversations with students went beyond journalism. Kupetz’s curiosity extended into books, movies and nearly every topic students wanted to discuss.
“I have a list of John’s book recommendations,” Duvvuru said. “John, for me, is like an encyclopedia because he just knew so much about everything.”
May Lin of Belmont, California, another student in Kupetz’s instructor group, said that curiosity is what makes him stand out as a mentor.
“I’m able to joke with him,” Lin said. “He’s not someone who feels superior to me. He’s someone I’m able to have a good conversation with.”
Decades after first sitting in Kupetz’s classroom, former students return to teach alongside him. Three of the 2026 instructors were in Kupetz’s instructor group as teenagers: Cynthia Wang, a freelance writer; Juliet Allan, a recent Medill graduate; and Bret Begun, a senior editor at Bloomberg News.
Wang first met Kupetz when she was 17 and in his instructor group. More than 30 years later, she returned to the program and now teaches beside him.
“It was the first time anyone had looked at my work through a purely journalistic lens,” Wang said. “The amount of attention he put in my work made me feel valued, but also that he valued the craft.”
Their relationship has evolved beyond the classroom.
“Our conversations are different now,” Wang said. “They’re just about life — just about what’s happening with both of us. The fact that we both have wonky knees.”
For Kupetz, those relationships are the best parts of teaching.
“I got the better part of the bargain when they had me for class,” Kupetz said. “Then I got to know them. And some of them aren’t just students. They’re incredibly close friends.”
