Chicago Sun-Times, WBEZ Could Merge Under New Deal: Robert Feder

Chicago IL

29 September, 2021

10:40 AM

Description

CHICAGO — The city's National Public Radio affiliate, WBEZ, and its second-largest newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times, may merge, according to media blogger and former Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder. Chicago Public Media, which operates the nonprofit radio station, was expected to vote on the merger Wednesday, according to Feder, who attributed the proposal to Michael Sacks, a Sun-Times investor and former adviser to former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. It's not clear how exactly the merger of the nonprofit radio station and the for-profit newspaper would work, whether the newsrooms would be integrated or continue to operate independently, Feder said. 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 reports that Sacks has been looking for a partner to take over the Sun-Times as the paper continues to face financial losses. Read more from robertfeder.com