Chicago News Cooperative Launches New York Times Report
2009-11-19 17:19:09 -
Beginning Nov. 20, the Chicago News Cooperative will produce a two-page Chicago-area report appearing Fridays and Sundays in The New York Times. The report introduces CNC as a new model for public-service reporting in print, on the air and online.
“We are honored to be part of The New York Times’ unprecedented efforts to have Chicago journalists produce local news for
America’s premier newspaper,” said CNC co-founder and editor James O’Shea.
“Despite the financial challenges faced by all media, The Times’ commitment to readers in Chicago speaks worlds about the paper’s values and dedication to quality journalism. The city is a better place with added voices providing local news.”
WTTW public television is a co-founder of CNC, which will also collaborate with WBEZ Chicago Public Radio and other outlets to extend its reporting over the air and on the Web. In 2010 CNC will introduce a Web site combining news programming designed to educate and activate with social networking intended to connect people who share common interests.
O’Shea, former editor of the Los Angeles Times and past managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, will lead CNC’s team of news industry veterans and new-media journalists. James Warren — an MSNBC analyst, past Tribune managing editor and current publisher of the Chicago Reader — will write a regular CNC column that will appear in The Times’ Chicago pages.
Other CNC journalists include David Greising, former Tribune business columnist, and Jessica Reaves and Bill Parker, former Tribune reporters. José M. Moré, a Tribune photographer for 28 years, will spearhead CNC's photographic efforts.
Dan Mihalopoulous, who has covered Chicago’s City Hall for the Tribune since 2003, will head up CNC’s coverage of city government. Katie Fretland, previously a reporter at the Omaha World-Herald, will join Mihalopoulous on the city beat.
CNC has brought together an advisory board chaired by its co-founder, Peter Osnos, the 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 and chair of the Federal Communications Commission in the Kennedy administration; Martin Koldyke, former chairman of WTTW and founder of the Golden Apple Foundation; Ann Marie Lipinski, Pulitzer Prize-winning former editor of the Chicago Tribune and current 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 Denuo, a Publicis company; and Dawn Sinclair Shapiro, a broadcast journalist and documentary film director at Woodlawn Avenue Productions.
“At a time when so many news organizations are in a forced retreat, it’s exciting to be part of a venture that has set out to build more and better news coverage,” said Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times. “Working with the Chicago News Cooperative will allow us to expand our coverage of Chicago with sophisticated reporting by local journalists with deep roots in the community.” The Times added pages and a blog focused on the San Francisco market in October.
Like other news services, CNC will receive payment for its Times coverage. CNC expects to create a self-sustaining business model based on diverse revenue streams including advertising, membership and service fees. In its startup phase, CNC has received support from WTTW, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, Winston & Strawn LLP and civic leaders interested in funding substantive journalism for a democratic society.
for Chicago News CooperativeConnie Dickinson,
cdickinson@dickinsongroup.com : mailto:cdickinson@dickinsongroup.com ,
312-239-1103Jeremy Hogan,
jhogan@dickinsongroup.com : mailto:jhogan@dickinsongroup.com ,
312-239-1109
