tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29445163155876679432024-03-05T17:18:54.905-06:00The Bulldog EditionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger373125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-53041365311203504942012-12-03T09:42:00.002-06:002012-12-03T09:42:59.094-06:00Longform Journalism ChangesInteresting article on the Poynter Foundation Web Site about how longform journalism has adapted to changes in the news industry: http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/newsgathering-storytelling/196848/longform-journalism-morphs-in-print-as-it-finds-a-new-home-online/.
Check it out.<a href="http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/newsgathering-storytelling/196848/longform-journalism-morphs-in-print-as-it-finds-a-new-home-online/"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-84989219674076854532012-09-20T15:14:00.001-06:002012-09-20T15:14:23.888-06:00WIU Alum Pens Insightful Crime StoryCheck out WIU Alum Mark Konkol's (winner of a Pulitzer Prize in 2011) exceptional story about how violence affects Chicago Aldermen on a personal level:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/14958798-418/chicagos-violence-hits-home-for-some-aldermen-im-afraid-of-dying-says-austin.html
<a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/14958798-418/chicagos-violence-hits-home-for-some-aldermen-im-afraid-of-dying-says-austin.html"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-69784935237278297502012-09-12T11:13:00.001-06:002012-09-12T11:13:41.358-06:00Mercer University's Bold, New Journalism Teaching ExperimentMercer University is trying a new experiment in journalism education: a completely integrated news-gathering partnership between its journalism program and the local newspaper and public radio station. The university's president says it may be the future of journalism education. Check out the story at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/business/media/at-mercer-university-an-experiment-to-save-local-journalism.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/business/media/at-mercer-university-an-experiment-to-save-local-journalism.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-9709520776449221622012-09-07T11:05:00.003-06:002012-09-07T11:05:35.298-06:00Work at Tri-States Radio and Get PaidHi everyone: Tri-States Public Radio (91.3 FM) is in the market for paid
part-time reporters. You will get terrific on-air experience while learning
to write in broadcasting style. You don't have to be a broadcasting or even
a journalism major to apply. If interested, please pick up an application
at the front desk at Tri-States Public Radio, which is in a former grocery
store next to the old movie theater on the north side of University Avenue
(across from Cafe Aroma, near the intersection with Lafayette Street).
Thanks,
Professor Lisa KernekThe Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-488808774724002772012-09-06T09:24:00.001-06:002012-09-06T09:24:57.603-06:00Want a Journalism Job? Learn Computer ProgrammingMiranda Mulligan, director of Northwestern's Knight News Innovation Lab, says journalism programs need to encourage their students to think outside of the box—and consider learning the basics of computer programming. Mulligan's article recently appeared on the Nieman Journalism Lab web site. Read it at: http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/09/miranda-mulligan-want-to-produce-hirable-grads-journalism-schools-teach-them-to-code/<a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/09/miranda-mulligan-want-to-produce-hirable-grads-journalism-schools-teach-them-to-code/"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-31115543134010975612012-09-04T10:38:00.001-06:002012-09-04T10:38:31.066-06:00WIU Alum is Journalism Day Speaker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfuEguIwh9DDM5IAoUkJtaXhZEUY2nG6bkAp5sBjRlqYi4olO0X4Qjic4wk2Jq9JGKYPquT1VDSE33xtVJS4_XbMsflrfNnTEfwx1pwkSEKk378tu4_jCAGyxQ_5cTnY8By0CiZZLwdHI/s1600/ObamaCOVERABOOK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfuEguIwh9DDM5IAoUkJtaXhZEUY2nG6bkAp5sBjRlqYi4olO0X4Qjic4wk2Jq9JGKYPquT1VDSE33xtVJS4_XbMsflrfNnTEfwx1pwkSEKk378tu4_jCAGyxQ_5cTnY8By0CiZZLwdHI/s320/ObamaCOVERABOOK.jpg" /></a></div>
Mark it on your calendars: October 19 is the 2012 Journalism Day at Western Illinois University. Make sure to attend keynote speaker (and WIU Alum) Chris Ward's presentation entitled: "From comic books to radio: Following the journalism career path in the 21st century." Ward's talk will begin at 12 noon in the Carl Sandburg Theater in the Student Union.
Ward is a former Western Courier entertainment editor and currently works as Director of Marketing and Communications for KDHX in St. Louis. He is also author of the comic book, "Political Power: Barack Obama," and a former staff writer and editor of "Wizard Magazine" and "Toyfare Magazine."
The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-29935506315983977902012-08-28T15:24:00.002-06:002012-08-28T15:24:47.524-06:00What's a Digital Only Media Town Like?As more and more newspapers cut back on daily publishing, what has been the experience of communities that have only digital media? One of the first cities to lose its daily newspaper was Ann Arbor, Michigan, which converted to a digital-only format three years ago. The American Journalism Review recently analyzed how it's been going in Ann Arbor. Read the story at: http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=5377.<a href="http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=5377"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-48995083829560438592012-08-27T13:27:00.001-06:002012-08-27T13:27:54.290-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1NAipdjP6hQcE3ghopDC40rM_l9Gt9VDKKAVhVQ2ER30svByi4NNKU6iCeRH6TPvZ8TPeP094MSSEEoVMlnk7Wjo-Gzb0oE2vUCPRviDXagFwv7sr5Q8rFuYZxYCX698PYDEIlQceQo/s1600/WIM+Issue+6+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1NAipdjP6hQcE3ghopDC40rM_l9Gt9VDKKAVhVQ2ER30svByi4NNKU6iCeRH6TPvZ8TPeP094MSSEEoVMlnk7Wjo-Gzb0oE2vUCPRviDXagFwv7sr5Q8rFuYZxYCX698PYDEIlQceQo/s320/WIM+Issue+6+cover.jpg" /></a></div>
Don't forget: First meeting of the new school year for anyone interested in working on Western Illinois Magazine will be Wednesday, August 29 at 4 p.m. in the Western Courier offices in the Heating Plant Annex. See you!The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-23872109940962879602012-08-27T11:25:00.002-06:002012-08-27T11:25:56.073-06:00Fewer People Believe Major News MediaFewer people believe what they hear or read from major news organizations according to a recent Pew Research Center report. According to a survey, positive believability ratings have fallen significantly for nine of the 13 major news organizations. Despite the declines, however, the study also indicated that a majority of Americans still give most major news organizations positive believability marks. To read a summary of the study go to: http://www.people-press.org/2012/08/16/further-decline-in-credibility-ratings-for-most-news-organizations/.<a href="http://www.people-press.org/2012/08/16/further-decline-in-credibility-ratings-for-most-news-organizations/"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-20907066397292311562012-08-17T13:31:00.001-06:002012-08-17T13:31:47.198-06:00Welcome back! Any students needing to pick up a journalism class (or interested in politics and journalism) should sign up immediately for Journalism 334, Public Affairs and Beat Reporting, taught by Professor Lisa Kernek. The class still has a few openings so sign up now!The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-44705734688979515112012-08-15T09:58:00.000-06:002012-08-15T09:58:07.597-06:00Job Openings in Macomb and CantonTom Martin, regional editor for Gatehouse newspapers is looking for a daily newspaper reporter ready to become an editor, or a weekly editor wanting to go to a daily newspaper. His company has openings at:
• The McDonough County Voice, a 5-day per week newspaper in Macomb, Ill.
• Daily Ledger, a 6-day per week newspaper in Canton, Ill., have top editor openings.
Each newspaper has a circulation of about 4,000 and a staff of 4 full-timers in the newsroom, including the editors.
The Macomb opening is urgent. The Canton job starts Oc.t 1. Anyone who is interested please contact him at tmartin@register-mail.com.The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-12004475420602764582012-07-12T10:44:00.002-06:002012-07-12T10:45:11.887-06:00Did the New York Times Contribute to the Death of Veteran Journalist Anthony Shadid?The web site, Truth-out.org, is questioning whether the New York Times pushed veteran journalist Anthony Shadid to return to the Middle East, where he had been kidnapped 11 months earlier, without concern for his health.
Shadid is believed to have died of a heart attack while trying to illegally enter Syria to report on that country's deteriorating situation for the Times.
In the Truth-out story, Shadid's cousin, Dr. Edward Shadid, noted that Shadid had received no counseling or treatment for possible post-traumatic stress disorder following his kidnapping.
According to Truth-out, "The New York Times insisted that Anthony illegally infiltrate Syria in a poorly planned, dangerously risky operation. His editors overruled Anthony's objections and failed to provide equipment he had requested. When he then died of what his cousin suspects was a heart attack, the Times put out an inaccurate story that obscured the newspaper's role in his death, while proclaiming him a hero and basking in the reflected glory."
Check out the complete story at: http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/10204-burying-the-story-along-with-the-body-anthony-shadid-and-the-new-york-times.<a href="http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/10204-burying-the-story-along-with-the-body-anthony-shadid-and-the-new-york-times"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-60267095087566397712012-07-10T09:13:00.001-06:002012-07-10T09:13:59.430-06:00Texas GOP Opposes 'Critical Thinking'In the disturbing trend category: the Texas Republican Party has released its 2012 political platform, which includes a plank calling for the removal of "critical thinking" from public school curriculum. In the platform document, the party states: "We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student's fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority." (page 20, Republican Party of Texas, 2012).
The party called on teachers to focus on traditional rote memorization techniques.
A critical opinion article about the new platform can be found at: http://truth-out.org/news/item/10144-texas-gop-declares-no-more-teaching-of-critical-thinking-skills-in-texas-public-schools#.T_rDOWpTUS8.email.The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-16122892071012080222012-07-09T10:54:00.002-06:002012-07-09T10:54:28.792-06:00iPad Becoming the New Evening NewspaperInteresting story on Jim Romenesko's blog about how a large number of people who own an iPad use it to troll the Internet in the evenings, which has helped make the iPad the modern day equivalent to the old evening newspaper. Check out what he has to say at: http://jimromenesko.com/2012/07/09/the-ipad-becomes-the-evening-newspaper/.<a href="http://jimromenesko.com/2012/07/09/the-ipad-becomes-the-evening-newspaper/"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-55128855445111840972012-07-06T09:24:00.002-06:002012-07-06T09:24:38.906-06:00Bogus Bylines Bring EmbarrassmentThe march toward "outsourcing" news—meaning the trend of some major news organizations like the Chicago Tribune to subcontract news gathering and reporting to a third party—has resulted in a few recent hiccups.
Check out the controversy over Journatic's (one of those subcontractors, which is partially owned by the Tribune) use of fake bylines in some of its stories, which was recently featured on National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/2012/07/06/156311078/fake-bylines-reveal-true-costs-of-local-news<a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/07/06/156311078/fake-bylines-reveal-true-costs-of-local-news"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-47870906905269964672012-07-05T11:13:00.003-06:002012-07-05T11:13:44.130-06:00Is using a press release in a story plagiarism?Interesting lawsuit involving a veteran Kansas City Star reporter's use of press releases in his news columns: <a href="http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/180013/fired-kc-star-reporter-sues-says-using-press-releases-isnt-plagiarism/#"></a>http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/180013/fired-kc-star-reporter-sues-says-using-press-releases-isnt-plagiarism/#The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-55427361701810446932012-06-11T09:55:00.002-06:002012-06-11T09:55:23.220-06:00New San Diego Newspaper Owner Unabashedly Promotes Business AgendaThe New York Times reported today that the new owner of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Douglas F. Manchester, openly admits his goal is to use the paper to promote his business and political interests. Read David Carr's story about the San Diego U-T's new direction at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/business/media/san-diego-union-tribune-open-about-its-pro-business-motives.html?_r=1.<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/business/media/san-diego-union-tribune-open-about-its-pro-business-motives.html?_r=1"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-90849634919040308362012-05-31T11:24:00.001-06:002012-05-31T11:24:48.324-06:00University of Oregon School Newspaper Leaps Into Digital FutureThe Daily Emerald, the student newspaper at the University of Oregon, is shifting to a digital-first operation and discontinuing daily publishing. Read about some of the lessons the paper is learning: <a href="http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/05/5-lessons-from-the-oregon-daily-emeralds-digital-reinvention152.html?utm_source=Daily+Must-Reads+from+MediaShift&utm_campaign=e39495060e-Daily_Must_Reads10_24_2011&utm_medium=email"></a>http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/05/5-lessons-from-the-oregon-daily-emeralds-digital-reinvention152.html?utm_source=Daily+Must-Reads+from+MediaShift&utm_campaign=e39495060e-Daily_Must_Reads10_24_2011&utm_medium=emailThe Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-20038648499004377742012-05-31T10:37:00.001-06:002012-05-31T10:37:44.252-06:00Best Books for Future JournalistsSummer is a great time to catch up on reading. Here's a recent list of books that every future journo should read, according to the Columbia Journalism Review: http://www.cjr.org/review/a_reading_list_for_future_journalists.php<a href="http://www.cjr.org/review/a_reading_list_for_future_journalists.php"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-38906402333900223512012-05-30T08:30:00.003-06:002012-05-30T08:31:22.740-06:00Student Editors Lose Independence at UNLVThe student government at the University of Nevada Las Vegas has announced it plans to select future editors of the student-run newspaper, The Rebel Yell, previously an independent organization. As a result of a previously unnoticed change in administrative procedures, the university's board of regents inadvertently removed regulations that had given that authority to an appointed advisory board consisting of students and faculty. As a result, authority for appointing the newspaper's editor in chief falls to the student government association.
Read more about the controversy in the Las Vegas Sun: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/may/30/unlv-student-government-reasserts-authority-appoin/
<a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/may/30/unlv-student-government-reasserts-authority-appoin/"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-38494887396338929912012-05-24T16:29:00.002-06:002012-05-24T16:36:32.252-06:00Ready for RetirementLongtime Western Illinois University journalism professor Bill Knight, who created this blog, retired this month. In a recent newspaper column, he shared his thoughts on the subject:
If you want sure-fire compliments, the choices are pretty much a) retire or b) die. Highly recommended: a).
When you retire you don’t hear from people who think you’re a fool or a boob, and a party especially is nice – like a visitation only you’re there. And alive.
Less than a week after I retire from teaching after 21 years at Western Illinois University, my son finishes law school. (His knack for advocacy seems solid; during my retirement reception, he texted me, “Congratulations! You finally got out of college!”) So change is wafting over me like a breeze from Lake Michigan through the cheap seats at Wrigley Field.
I’ll certainly miss colleagues and students, though I won’t miss commuting, meetings, ties and so many keys that I half expected someone to quip, “Are you faculty or are you just glad to see me?”
Unlike journalism, which I’m convinced is a calling, teaching for me bounced between the best job I ever hated or the worst job I ever loved. Journalist Bill Moyers says, “Most of us in journalism are too obsessed with the here-and-now to think about the past or future tense of our lives.”
Retirement is a chance to reflect a bit, at least in solitude. I had years of practice working alone, from delivering newspapers at dawn and mowing lawns at all hours to driving tractors and spending days cutting volunteer cornstalks out of bean fields. I also have spent decades “playing” on teams, mostly baseball, but also construction crews, a “commune” of sorts, labor unions and, of course, newsrooms.
Alan Guebert, a terrific ag journalist, not long ago recalled a 2009 West Point speech by literary critic William Deresiewicz, who sought to encourage first-year cadets to spend more time alone to avoid becoming “excellent sheep” that he saw in his Yale University classes.
Deresiewicz said, “(For) too long we have been training leaders who only know how to keep the routine going, who can answer questions, but don’t know how to ask them.”
For 21 years I’ve hoped and prayed that I’ve encouraged my students not only to write, but read and think – not necessarily in that order: solitary endeavors.
Recently, I’ve heard from former students, ranging from a Pulitzer Prize winner and a Fulbright scholar to sportswriters for AP/News Corp. and a small daily, from a business reporter for a mid-market daily and staffers in big newsrooms and even the military. They seem to be good thinkers and listeners as well as writers; I don’t think I damaged them. Their flattery included compliments about my being a mentor, a “heartbeat” of journalism, of helping them, or making classes insightful and entertaining.
I’ve also heard from pals who shared past adventures, friends who are now college administrators, a state senator, a judge, and an assistant attorney general. One said, “It won't be long before you're sitting at the local cafe having breakfast on a Tuesday morning with some of your cronies, other geezers, and wondering, ‘What the heck happened?’ Enjoy that moment.”
A reviewer who used to write for me remembered a “writer’s block” dry spell during which I’d cajoled him with a question: “Your hands fall off?” A Tea Party friend emailed, “Retiring? From what? We’ve been blessed with doing things we love.” An ex-PGA caddy buddy warned, “You will find time for more of the things you love, like and some that you don’t.”
One former girlfriend, now at a major metro daily, wrote, “Thanks for fighting the good fight.” Another ex-girlfriend made a donation in my name to a journalism student fund. Humbling; another card from a woman sent a note I’d sent her and other students after 9-11, which she’d saved.
I’d said, 10 years ago, “At such a time, reading and studying grammar, discussing and exercising news judgment, and expanding our awareness of the wide variety of stories and assignments seem relatively meaningless,. Priorities change,” I continued, “– sometimes in an instant – but reporting and the First Amendment that protects it remain important.”
Priorities do change, but I agree with Moyers, who said, “Journalism [is] a continuing course in adult education.”
Mine as well as others, of course.
So, I won’t be in my classrooms, but I will continue to write a column, do radio, and work on book projects, plus get involved in new media and new ventures.
One newsroom manager wrote, “Your work generates more complaints than anything else we use. Keep up the good work.”
A high school classmate offered best wishes with a challenge: “Retirement is not for sissies.”
I’m ready.The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-31862838640099153612012-05-24T15:05:00.001-06:002012-05-24T15:05:01.184-06:00Changes in the New Orleans newspaper sceneThe venerable New Orleans Times Picayune is cutting back to three days a week and pushing an aggressive online agenda. Check it out: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michelinemaynard/2012/05/24/what-new-orleans-can-expect-when-its-newspaper-goes-away/The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-34427625983159422462012-05-17T09:45:00.001-06:002012-05-17T09:48:56.926-06:00Buffet Buys More NewspapersWarren Buffett moved forward with his plans to invest in additional newspapers today when he purchased all of the non-Florida holdings of Media General. Read about it here: http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/174282/media-general-to-sell-most-of-its-newspapers-to-warren-buffetts-group/<a href="http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/174282/media-general-to-sell-most-of-its-newspapers-to-warren-buffetts-group/"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-78609578884579661572012-05-14T09:08:00.000-06:002012-05-14T09:08:20.121-06:00Court of Appeals Agrees Citizens Can Videotape Police in IllinoisThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has tossed out Illinois' controversial eavesdropping law, which restricts citizens from videotaping police officers performing their public duties in a public place. Read the details here: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ill._eavesdropping_law_cant_be_used_to_stop_public_recordings_of_cops_7th_c/. A complete copy of the ruling can be downloaded from the ACLU web site: http://www.aclu-il.org/victory-for-first-amendment-right-to-audio-record-police/.<a href="http://www.aclu-il.org/victory-for-first-amendment-right-to-audio-record-police/"></a>The Backyard Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14575257149923033590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944516315587667943.post-61051152684239286302012-05-11T06:53:00.002-06:002012-05-11T06:56:27.589-06:00Sun-Times may buy Chicago Reader<a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120509/NEWS06/120509736/sun-times-parent-to-buy-chicago-reader-for-3-million"></a>
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The owner of the Chicago Sun-Times is negotiating to purchase the Chicago Reader for about $3 million, according to Crain's Chicago Business, and the deal could be finalized next week.
Sun-Times parent company Wrapports LLC, which took over the daily in December, is looking to buy the alternative weekly from New York investment firm Atalaya Capital Management L.P., which acquired it along with four other weeklies out of bankruptcy in 2009 after lending money to prior owners at Tampa, Fla.-based Creative Loafing Inc.
"The Reader will survive and thrive because it represents what so many other media outlets have forgotten today and thus have threatened their very existence; that is, it's all about local, local, local!" said Brad Bulkley, the investment banker hired by Atalaya to sell the Creative Loafing papers.
Bringing the Reader into the Sun-Times newspaper group -- which includes seven suburban dailies and dozens of suburban weeklies -- could expand the chain's scant coverage of the city's arts, culture, restaurant and entertainment scene and connect it with a new category of advertisers.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com