Aug. 13--Launched eight years ago to stake out ground for the Chicago Tribune in hyperlocal news, TribLocal is yielding much of its turf to Pioneer Press, a portfolio of 32 suburban weeklies acquired from Sun-Times Media last year.
Eight of TribLocal's 16 printed editions will be absorbed into overlapping Pioneer Press weeklies. Chicago Tribune subscribers in communities from Hinsdale to Lake Zurich will receive the local Pioneer Press newspaper beginning Aug. 20. Most of the affected markets are on the North Shore.
As part of the consolidation, Thursday delivery of the Pioneer Press will shift from the mailbox to the driveway for all subscribers.
In addition, two south suburban TribLocal editions -- Orland Park/Homer Glen and Tinley Park/Lincoln Way -- will be folded into the Daily Southtown's Community Star. The Naperville TribLocal will cease publication entirely, with Chicago Tribune subscribers instead getting an introductory offer for the Naperville Sun, also acquired from the Sun-Times.
Only five community editions will continue under the TribLocal banner: Wheaton/Glen Ellyn, Tri-Cities, Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook/Plainfield and Downers Grove.
Editorial staff won't be cut as a result of the changes, a Chicago Tribune spokeswoman said.
TribLocal started with four journalists in April 2007, focusing on community-generated news in nine towns throughout the western and southern suburbs. TribLocal expanded into a full-fledged hyperlocal news operation with 90 town websites and as many as 22 print editions published every Thursday.
TribLocal was conceived in part to go head-to-head with the Pioneer Press weeklies. When Tribune Publishing acquired 38 suburban Chicago newspapers from the Sun-Times for $23.5 million in October, it set the table for consolidation, eliminating the need for many of the stand-alone TribLocal editions.
rchannick@tribpub.com
