Dear Chicago Sun-Times supporters,
As a vital part of the Chicago Sun-Times family, you’re at the heart of an extraordinary and transformative journey for Chicago journalism. Thanks to you, we’re creating a new kind of organization — one that ensures Chicago has the best and most impactful citywide, independent journalism, made for and by Chicagoans.
In 2022, Chicago Public Media/WBEZ took the historic step of acquiring the Chicago Sun-Times, bringing two storied institutions together to create something new and transformative. This combination was driven by a shared mission, a collective reputation for journalistic excellence and complementary business strengths: WBEZ’s diversified revenue model, supported by membership, development and corporate sponsorship, paired with the Sun-Times’ broad and diverse audience, which extends into communities WBEZ has not always reached.
That vision of creating something greater than the sum of its parts — an integrated nonprofit media organization that doesn’t just survive but truly thrives — is becoming more real by the day. The Sun-Times’ digital audience continues to grow, reaching new readers across Chicago’s neighborhoods and communities. WBEZ’s in-depth storytelling appears in the Sun-Times alongside the daily news. Every week, 4.3 million listeners and readers across the Chicago area depend on us for reliable news to make informed decisions. Together, we’re connecting more Chicagoans, helping us all understand our city, and ensuring the stories we tell reflect and make an impact on every corner of this city.
Since I joined Chicago Public Media in September, I’ve been leading our team through an extensive planning process to build the Newsroom of the Future — a vision to ensure that we remain innovative and connected to our community. In the upcoming months, we plan to:
- Revitalize our digital presence to strengthen engagement, unify our platforms in one website, streamline our newsletters and maximize revenue opportunities.
- Reimagine our print product to ensure that the Sun-Times remains a vital source of local journalism while adapting to changing audience needs.
- Invest in innovation to build stronger connections with our audience through new platforms and approaches that foster trust and community.
We’re excited about this direction and what it promises for our readers and listeners. We’re on a path to creating a sustainable model for independent journalism that thrives in today’s media landscape.
But we’re not there yet. To fully realize this vision, we need to take an important next step. Today, we announced a voluntary separation program across parts of our organization, including the Chicago Sun-Times staff and WBEZ business teams; the WBEZ newsroom will not be impacted. We are offering our employees the opportunity to voluntarily leave Chicago Public Media with an incentive package. Our hope is that this action and other efforts will reduce our costs so that we can avoid more significant cost-cutting measures down the road.
This is a proactive decision that allows us to align our organization’s size with our goals while strengthening our most valuable and impactful initiatives and ensuring our financial sustainability. While we’ve made strides in adapting to the rapidly changing media landscape, these efforts haven’t yet translated into the sustainable revenue we need. Making this adjustment now is a necessary step to position us for long-term success and fully realize the transformative potential of our combined organization.
We are optimistic because of you. Your continued support is our guiding star. Chicago Public Media’s funding is unique: 94% of our revenue comes directly from our community, through subscribers, members, local businesses, and philanthropic partners. We don’t have shareholders or corporate profits driving our decisions. Your generosity fuels the work that helps Chicago thrive, and we are committed to keeping you informed every step of the way.
Independent journalism is critical to Chicago’s civic life, and we remain committed to delivering impactful investigations, holding the powerful accountable, telling stories that reflect our city’s diverse voices, elevating solutions to your problems, and capturing Chicago’s spirit. Together, we’re building something extraordinary. Thank you for believing in the power of community-driven reporting and helping us create a national model for what local journalism can achieve.
Onward,
Melissa Bell
CEO, Chicago Public Media
