Editor and Publisher Reports

On January 31, 2022, some would say industry history was made when Chicago Public Media, owners of the PBS affiliate WBEZ announced the acquisition of the iconic, daily tabloid: The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago Public Media raised $61 million in multiyear philanthropic commitments for the acquisition and then transitioned the publication to nonprofit ownership. At the time of the announcement the New York Times reported that the merger of: “The hard-hitting tone of tabloid journalism and the measured voice of public radio make for an unlikely combination.” Tim Franklin, senior associate dean of Northwestern University’s Medill journalism school and the former president of the Poynter Institute stated: “It’s kind of hard to overstate how profound this development is. I think in some ways it could be a model for the nation.” Just a few months later, more industry “history” was made with the announcement of the hiring of Jennifer Kho, former managing editor of HuffPost and Guardian US, as the paper’s executive