April 22--The Chicago Reader, a 45-year-old free alternative weekly perhaps best known for its offbeat classified ads, has published its own, rather unusual help-wanted message.
Facing ongoing cutbacks and an uncertain future, staffers posted an online petition Thursday asking readers to help save the Reader, which was purchased by Sun-Times owner Wrapports four years ago.
"We recognize the fiscal challenges of the media business, but relentless cuts mean withdrawing from the fight, not meeting it head-on," the petition reads. "Ownership must invest in marketing, advertising, and digital operations and enrich editorial content, or the Reader will die."
Staffers created a Facebook page and launched a Twitter campaign -- #savethechicagoreader -- in support of the petition on actionnetwork.org. The petition had garnered more than 1,500 signatures as of Friday afternoon.
Among the concerns outlined by Reader staffers are "repeated cutbacks" that diminish editorial coverage, a 40 percent reduction in size of the print edition, reduced distribution and no cost-of-living wage increases for employees in nearly a decade.
"They just believe there's got to be a plan for the future, that there has to be investment in the product if it's going to remain strong and relevant in the city," said David Roeder, a consultant for the Chicago News Guild.
The Guild represents about 20 Reader editors and writers. The Reader's editorial staffers voted unanimously to join the union in January 2015, but have yet to secure a contract.
"We continue to negotiate with the Reader Guild in good faith," Jim Kirk, editor and publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, said Friday in an email. "The Reader remains a strong voice in the community and we have every intention of keeping it that way despite the growing challenges all media companies face."
Launched in 1971 by a group of Carleton College graduates, the Reader carved its niche as a free weekly long on free-form journalism, entertainment news and racy want ads. The alternative paper struggled in the digital age as classifieds migrated online, and in 2009 it was acquired out of bankruptcy by Atalaya Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund.
In 2012, Wrapports, parent of the Chicago Sun-Times, bought the Reader for a reported $3 million.
Ben Joravsky, a Reader staff writer since 1990, said the weekly continues to fulfill its mission to provide "an alternative view of the world," but has been sliding in the face of publishing industry pressures and ownership changes that have stripped it of resources.
He said Wrapports needs to fill vacant positions, establish a minimum base salary for employees and put money into the Reader to help it grow as a publication -- in print, online or both.
"You have to invest in the paper," Joravsky said. "You can't just let the thing wither away through attrition. That's what has been going on for the last 10 years, ever since the original owners sold it."
rchannick@tribpub.com
