Another One Bites the Dust

One more publication, The Printed Blog, closed up shop this week. This new kind of newprint publication--which compiled posts from local blogs in a printed format-- was, in my opinion, a novel idea. But due to lack of outside investment capital, The Printed Blog folded. And alas, bloggers will continue to find their audiences online, and not in newsprint.

Give WBEZ $20 or Peter Sagal will annoy you at your cubicle

WBEZ has a cool campaign going to get folks to donate twenty bucks. They made four videos - three imagine what might happen if they didn't have enough money for for Kai Ryssdal, Peter Sagal, or human interviewers. Another is of local reporter Rob Wildeboer showing what donations pay for in his reporting kit, which is interesting to nerds like myself. A box on the site invites visitors to imagine what their own lives would be like without WBEZ.

What would the world look like without your organization or movement? This question a great starting place not only for creating good online video or campaign, but for thinking of the overall identity and brand of your organization.

Beachwood Reporter, Chicagotalks win awards

Tribune is laying off more folks and Streetwise is in trouble. How about some good Chicago media news?

Beachwood Reporter and Chicagotalks were recognized for journalistic excellence recently. "Out of Order" and "Off the Record," investigative pieces by Erica Christoffer and Becky Schlikerman about the lack of transparency in Chicago City Council committee meetings, won a Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi award for investigative reporting.

Today Beachwood proprietor Steve Rhodes wrote about the award and also how he feels about the value of news professionals sharing and linking. It will be interesting to see if big MSM organizations come around.

Streetwise Endangered

In a disheartening twist of timing, two days after a NY Times article declared that "newspapers produced and sold by homeless people in dozens of American cities are flourishing" (see Valerie's post), today's Tribune reports that Streetwise, Chicago's own homeless-oriented journal, is on the brink of collapse.

Valerie's exhortation to support Streetwise reverberates with unprecedented urgency now.

CTDN tells the story of a Cabrini-Green musical

There's a great audio slide show up at Chi-Town Daily News telling the story of a musical that kids are writing about Cabrini-Green through the Music Theatre Workshop. Check it out.

Sun-Times Files for Chapter 11

This morning, CNN.com reports that the company that owns the Chicago Sun-Times and 58 other newspapers filed today for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Sun-Times joins other publications currently in bankruptcy, including the Chicago Tribune, while many others are on the brink.

“The significant downturn in the print advertising environment that has affected newspapers across the country has continued to severely impact us,” said Jeremy Halbreich, chairman and interim chief executive of the Sun-Times Media Group. “Unfortunately, this deteriorating economic climate, coupled with a significant, pending IRS tax liability dating back to previous management, has led us to today’s difficult action.”

Halbreich said the company would explore the potential sale of assets or new investment in the company to help it remain viable.

Checking in with Chat Daddy

I was on the phone a couple weeks ago with one of VDC's favorite media people, Chat Daddy (aka Art Sims), who writes a fantastic advice column for Chicago Defender. I learned that in addition to his column, Art is also helping people in the community at South Central Community Services, Inc. You can read about Art's work in a post I wrote for the Community Beat blog.

A global city without global news?

Tribune Co. announced that foreign coverage for all its papers will be consolidated in L.A., in much the same way it reorganized its DC bureaus.

From their business perspective I understand this move. Personally, I get news about from all sorts of sources - FP Passport, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, etc. - not a lot from Chicago Tribune. Many other heavy news consumers are the same way, and I'm sure Tribune sees this and figures, why not just get the AP copy and whatever a smaller and consolidated foreign desk can get for all its papers?

I am worried about what this means for Chicago and the Midwest, though. Why after the jump.


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I worry about who will explain how world events affect Chicago and the Midwest in these tough times for the region. Even more importantly, who will be our public voice as we become a more globalized world?

A commenter on Michael Miner's post on the subject said:

I mean, here we are in the Midwest, the "rust bucket," the section of the country most devastated by globalization, outsourcing and offshoring. We're really hurting here, and we could use a powerful voice speaking on our behalf. The Trib is the top newspaper in the region, and once had a creditable national and foreign staff.

It's a fair point. What does all this mean for a Chicago trying desperately to be considered a global city?

(photo via The Portage Park Blog)

Tribune lists Twitter handles instead of names on masthead

Chicago Tribune is listing Twitter handles instead of names on its masthead:

If you're signed up on Twitter, you can find out what Tribune Publisher @twhunter, Editor @gerrykern, Editorial Page Editor @BruceDold, Managing Editor @jjhirt, Digital Media Editor @Bill80, and Associate Editor @jwinnecke are all having for lunch (or writing about) every day.

If you want to know what I'm having for lunch (or what I'm reading or ranting about), I'm @hughadam.

Cuts at Crain's

Crain's Chicago Business is looking at a company-wide 10% pay cut and three staff layoffs, reports Tribune’s Phil Rosenthal .

In happier news, Crain's columnist Greg Hinz joined Twitter yesterday - you can also read his newish blog.

Reader revamps its web look

Chicago Reader got a new look on the web:



What do you think?

You can follow Reader web editor and blogger Whet Moser on Twitter at @whet.