Less than a year after its last layoffs and programming cuts, Chicago Public Media has announced new plans for staff reductions, affecting WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell shared the news in a letter to donors and staff.
Voluntary buyouts will be offered to Sun-Times staff and non-newsroom workers at WBEZ, and the reorganization will eventually combine both newsrooms. The reductions aim to save $3 million to $5 million annually, potentially affecting 20 to 30 employees. The Sun-Times editorial staff currently includes 104 employees, compared to WBEZ’s 64 newsroom staff.
Combined with non-editorial employees, the organization employs 278 people.
The April 2024 RIF saw 14 positions cut from WBEZ’s Content Development Unit. Vocalo 91.1 (WBEW) was also removed from the air and became a streaming-only station. Following those layoffs, CEO Matt Moog – who was in the process of retiring – was the subject of an organizational vote of no confidence, supported by 96% of participating staff.
This led to Bell, a former publisher at Vox Media, being named CEO in June and taking the role in September.
In her letter, Bell commented, “Our hope is that this action and other efforts will reduce our costs so that we can avoid more significant cost-cutting measures down the road. While we’ve made strides in adapting to the rapidly changing media landscape, these efforts haven’t yet translated into the sustainable revenue we need.”
Revenue-generating strategies, including the potentiality of a paywall for the Sun-Times website, are reportedly in talks.
