The Times Will Publish Added Pages on Fridays and Sundays, with News
Provided by the Chicago News Cooperative
Second in a Series of Local Print and Online Initiatives
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 2009--
The New York Times announced today an expanded Chicago area report,
produced in collaboration with the Chicago News Cooperative, with added
pages of local content running in The New York Times on Fridays and
Sundays in the Chicago area. The report will launch on Friday, Nov. 20.
The new pages will complement the national and global coverage that has
made The Times a popular news provider in the region.
“This collaboration with the Chicago News Cooperative will allow us to
expand our coverage of Chicago, supplementing our own work with
sophisticated reporting by local journalists who have deep roots in the
community," said Bill Keller, executive editor of The Times.
The Chicago News Cooperative, comprising a group of Chicago journalists
committed to public service journalism, launched on Oct. 22. Its editor
and co-founder, James O’Shea, former editor of the Los Angeles Times and
former managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, said: “We are delighted
that America’s premier newspaper has enough faith in our ideas to
partner with us in producing quality political, educational and cultural
coverage for readers in Chicago. We share The Times’s commitment to
serve its Chicago audience with reliable, substantive journalism as we
work to address the problems facing all media.” WTTW, Chicago’s public
television station, is a founding partner in CNC, which is also
collaborating with WBEZ, Chicago’s public radio station.
The regional report, to run in The Times and on NYTimes.com,
is devoted to local news, policy, sports and culture and will focus on
issues of importance to the Chicago community. James Warren, a former
Tribune managing editor and television commentator, will write a regular
column for CNC that will appear in The New York Times Chicago pages.
Other journalists recently hired by the CNC are Jessica Reaves and Bill
Parker, former Tribune reporters, and David Greising, former Tribune
business columnist. Veteran photojournalist José M. Moré, a Tribune
photographer for 28 years, will lead CNC's photographic efforts.
Dan Mihalopoulous, who has covered City Hall for the Tribune since 2003,
will head up CNC's coverage of city government. Katie Fretland, formerly
a reporter at the Omaha World-Herald, will join Mihalopoulous on the
city beat.
The CNC’s advisory board is chaired by co-founder Peter Osnos, founder
of PublicAffairs books, who has a background in journalism, publishing
and social entrepreneurship. Other members of the advisory board are:
James O’Shea; Dan Schmidt, president and CEO of WTTW; Newton Minow,
senior counsel at Sidley & Austin; Martin Koldyke, former chairman of
WTTW and founder of the Golden Apple Foundation; Ann Marie Lipinski, the
Pulitzer Prize-winning former editor of the Chicago Tribune and vice
president of Civic Engagement at the University of Chicago; Michael
Davies, president and CEO of AlphaZeta Interactive; Bruce Sagan, owner
and publisher of the Hyde Park Herald; Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO of
consulting firm Denuo; and Dawn Sinclair Shapiro, Director of Woodlawn
Avenue Productions.
The Chicago pages will feature enterprise reporting and will expand on
the work of The Times’s Chicago news bureau and its already extensive
coverage of the Chicago area. The online component will consist of news
from the CNC, regional Times content and timely up-to-the-minute news
feeds throughout the day. The added pages and online components will be
supported by local advertising.
The Times launched added pages and an online blog called “The
Bay Area” in the San Francisco Bay Area in October.
“Our intent is to roll out these expanded reports in several key markets
around the country, working with local journalists and news
organizations in a collaborative way,” said Scott Heekin-Canedy,
president and general manager of The Times. “This approach is a service
to our readers and will strengthen our subscriber retention.”
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a major funding
source for the CNC’s initial operations; other support has come from The
Chicago Community Trust, Winston & Strawn LLP and civic leaders
interested in funding substantive journalism for a democratic society.
The New York Times will pay CNC for its journalism as it does other news
services whose work appears in the pages of the newspaper and on NYTimes.com.
About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company, a leading media company with 2008 revenues
of $2.9 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald
Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers and more than 50
Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The
Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and
distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com.
Source: The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company
Diane McNulty, 212-556-5244
diane.mcnulty@nytimes.com
or
For
The Chicago News Cooperative
Connie Dickinson, 312-239-1103
cdickinson@dickinsongroup.com
