Chicago Sun-Times, WBEZ To Explore Merging As Nonprofit

CHICAGO — The city's National Public Radio affiliate, WBEZ, and its second-largest newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times, have signed a letter of intent to "explore joining together," according to a joint statement.

Chicago Public Media, which operates the nonprofit radio station, approved the nonbinding letter in a vote Wednesday evening. Under the deal, Chicago Public Media would acquire the Sun-Times as a subsidiary, creating "one of the largest local nonprofit news organizations in the nation," according to the statement.

The possibility of a merger was first reported earlier this week by media blogger and former Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder. He attributed the proposal to Michael Sacks, a Sun-Times investor and former adviser to former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

According to the joint statement, the two organizations would share content across their platforms, but "continue to serve their respective audiences," serving as a "national model for the future of local journalism."

“If we do this correctly, not only will it have a significant impact in the Chicago community, but I really do believe it will have ripple effects across the nation,” Sun-Times CEO Nykia Wright told WBEZ Thursday. “We’re not talking about reduction. We’re talking about expansion, and that’s one of the most exciting things to come out of journalism in at least a decade.”

Neither news organization said they expected any layoffs as a result of the merger, according to WBEZ.

Chicago Public Media also on Wednesday officially named interim CEO Matt Moog as that organization's permanent top executive.

"This opportunity arrives at an urgent time for local journalism, as newsrooms across the country and in our own region are being diminished or disappearing altogether amid significant disruption in traditional news business models," Moog said in a news release.

The Sun-Times filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and has changed ownership multiple times and been through several rounds of layoffs in the decade since.

In 2019, Sacks and fellow investor Rocky Wirtz invested an undisclosed amount in the paper, securing a controlling interest on the board.

Feder reported that Sacks had been looking for a partner to take over the Sun-Times as the paper continues to face financial losses.

As a nonprofit organization, much of the paper's new funding would come from philanthropy, including from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, an organization operated by former commerce secretary Penny Pritzker, the sister of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.