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Chicago Reader Announces Ownership Structure, New Publisher, and New Editor

Tracy Baim named Publisher, Anne Elizabeth Moore named Editor

In a series of press releases, the Chicago Reader formally announced the new management structure of the paper as it moves forward following the news in June that the paper would be sold by the Chicago Sun-Times to a group led by Dorothy Leavell. The full press release reads:

An agreement has been reached between the Chicago Sun-Times, owner of the Chicago Reader weekly newspaper, and a private investment group which has formed an L3C to purchase the Reader to ensure it remains a vital voice in the local media landscape.

Dorothy R. Leavell, publisher of the Chicago and Gary Crusader newspapers, will be chairman of the Reader board of directors. Board treasurer will be Eileen Rhodes, president of East Lake Management Group, and secretary will be Jessica Stites, executive editor of In These Times magazine.

Tracy Baim

The publisher of the Reader will be Tracy Baim, co-founder and publisher of Windy City Times newspaper. Baim will be stepping away from day-to-day responsibilities at Windy City Times. Her WCT management team—Terri Klinsky, Andrew Davis, Kirk Williamson, Jean Albright and Matt Simonette—will be responsible for the weekly production of Windy City Times.

The major investors behind the Reader purchase are longtime business leader Elzie Higginbottom and criminal defense attorney Leonard Goodman. A public fundraising and membership drive will also launch soon.

The new leadership team will take over the Reader in October 2018, with an official re-launch later this fall.

The Reader, founded in 1971, is among the last remaining alternative weekly newspapers that came out of the 1960s and 1970s counter-culture movements. The new owners will continue the strong tradition of cultural coverage and investigative reporting, focusing on both print and digital distribution channels.

“I am very happy to be part of the team saving this important media institution,” said Leavell. “There is a great opportunity here to expand the Reader coverage throughout the city and near suburbs of Chicago.” Since 1968, Leavell has served as editor and publisher of the Crusader Newspaper Group—Chicago and Gary, Ind.—after the death of her first husband Balm L. Leavell Jr., co-founder of both publications in 1940 and 1961, respectively. In 2017, Leavell, awarded many times over for her community and publishing work, was elected Chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a Black newspaper trade organization.

“The Chicago Sun-Times worked hard to save the Chicago Reader these past 14 months,” said Edwin Eisendrath, CEO of the Sun-Times. “This deal is good for the Reader, good for the Sun-Times, and good for Chicago. It took some time to get right, as it became clear that more resources, including staffing, were needed to shore up the Reader for its next phase. All of us at the Sun-Times are proud to turn the Reader over to this remarkable group of people who will make sure this independent voice is not lost.”

“This is a very exciting challenge and opportunity,” said Baim. “The Reader is an iconic media company and is a critical voice in Chicago. I look forward to continuing its tradition, and expanding its reach.” In 1985, Baim co-founded Windy City Times, one of a handful of weekly LGBT newspapers remaining in the U.S. The author of 12 books, Baim has won numerous awards for her work as a journalist and publisher, including induction into journalism and LGBT halls of fame, most recently the Association of Women Journalists-Chicago Hall of Fame.

In addition the paper released the following statement announcing a new editor and managing editor:

Award-winning cultural critic and comics journalist Anne Elizabeth Moore has been hired by the new publishers of the Chicago Reader newspaper as editor-in-chief.

Anne Elizabeth Moore

Moore has worked in independent media since the age of 11, more recently on such projects as Punk Planet, The Ladydrawers of Chicago, Ill., the Best American Comics series, and at Truthout. At her 2011 Cambodian Grrrl book launch at the Chicago Cultural Center, she was described as having “pushed Chicago to reinvision what publishing could be for two decades.”

“The new team behind the Reader has made the deliberate and thoughtful decision to do something incredibly difficult to ensure this city maintains a vital, independent news source on a weekly basis,” Moore said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to join them to help bring the paper to the whole of Chicago.”

Karen Hawkins, founder of Rebellious Magazine for Women and longtime journalist for The Associated Press and other media, has been hired as managing editor for digital. Hawkins, who holds her master’s in journalism from Northwestern University, was recently the inaugural recipient of the NLGJA Jeanne Córdova Award, a national honor.

“The Reader provides a vital voice for the Chicago area,” Hawkins said. “I remember as a young woman making special trips into the city to find a copy of the Reader to discover what was happening in all cultural corners of Chicago. I look forward to working to make sure the digital presence of the Reader continues to grow.”

The new publisher of the Reader is Tracy Baim, co-founder of Windy City Times newspaper.

“We are very excited to have Anne Elizabeth Moore as editor-in-chief of the Reader,” Baim said. “She will bring a fresh eye and approach to alternative weekly journalism in Chicago, at a time when alternative weeklies in other cities are struggling to survive. We are bringing together great editorial, business, circulation and advertising people to strengthen this legacy publication in the Windy City.

“In addition, we are also so pleased to have Chicago native Karen Hawkins as managing editor of digital. The Reader has an extensive online presence through the website and social media, and we hope to have a strong focus on this as an area for unlimited growth. We are a print newsweekly, but the online presence expands the reach of our articles and advertisers, and Hawkins will be key to this.”

An agreement has been signed between the Chicago Sun-Times, owner of the Chicago Reader weekly newspaper, and a private investment group which has formed an L3C to purchase the Reader to ensure it remains a vital voice in the local media landscape. The new leadership team take over the Reader effective Oct. 1, 2018, with an official re-launch later this fall. The paper will continue to publish every week.

Dorothy R. Leavell, publisher of the Chicago and Gary Crusader newspapers, is chairman of the Reader board of directors. Board treasurer is Eileen Rhodes, president of East Lake Management Group, and secretary is Jessica Stites, executive editor of In These Times magazine.

The major investors behind the Reader purchase are longtime business leader Elzie Higginbottom and criminal defense attorney Leonard Goodman. A public fundraising and membership drive will also launch soon.

The Reader is conducting a search for a print managing editor. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply once the position is posted.

The Reader, founded in 1971, is among the last remaining alternative weekly newspapers that came out of the 1960s and 1970s counter-culture movements. The new owners will continue the strong tradition of cultural coverage and investigative reporting, focusing on both print and digital distribution channels.