Chicago Public Media

Chicago Public Media
AbbreviationCPM
Typenon-profit
36-3687394
Melissa Bell[1]
SubsidiariesWBEZ
WBEW
WRTE
Chicago Sun-Times
This American Life
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
Websitewww.wbez.org Edit this at Wikidata
Formerly called
The WBEZ Alliance

Chicago Public Media (CPM) is a not-for-profit radio and print media company. CPM operates as the primary National Public Radio member organization for Chicago. It owns three non-commercial educational FM broadcast stations and one FM translator. In addition to local news and information productions, it produces the programs Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! for NPR stations, and This American Life which is distributed by PRX to other radio stations. On January 30, 2022, Chicago Public Media acquired the Chicago Sun-Times daily newspaper.[2]

Radio stations

The organization was started to take over the operation of 91.5 WBEZ from the Chicago Board of Education in 1990. Until April 2010, the company's legal name was The WBEZ Alliance, Inc. and it used the name Chicago Public Radio (CPR) for its primary radio station and corporate identity.[4] On June 22, 2012, it was announced that CPM had purchased troubled WRTE from the National Museum of Mexican Art.

Chicago Public Radio/Chicago Public Media also previously managed Loyola University of Chicago's WLUW (88.7 FM), heard on the North Side of Chicago and adjacent suburbs, for several years in the early 21st century, until 2007.[5]

In 2024, Chicago Public Media declared Melissa Bell as the new CEO for WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times.[6] Melissa is a digital journalist and co-founder of Vox.[6]

On January 30, 2022, Chicago Public Media formally took over the financially-troubled Chicago Sun-Times daily newspaper, which thereby became not-for-profit. A nonbinding agreement for the deal had been announced in September 2021, and the board of Chicago Public Media had signalled its approval on January 18, 2022. The final arrangement was backed with $61 million from several philanthropic organizations.[7][8][9][10][11]

Productions

References

  1. ^ "Chicago Public Media names Melissa Bell as new CEO". WBEZ.
  2. ^ "Melissa Bell named CEO of Chicago Public Media, will oversee Sun-Times, WBEZ". Chicago Sun-Times. June 27, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  3. ^ Feder, Robert. "Public radio rivals team up to boost WDCB, Vocalo", Chicago Tribune. May 4, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  4. ^ "Get to know us at WBEZ Chicago". WBEZ. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  5. ^ Isaacs, Deanna (July 7, 2007). "Picking Up Its Marbles". Chicago Reader. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Chicago Public Media names digital news pioneer as new CEO to lead WBEZ and Sun-Times". Chicago Tribune. June 27, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  7. ^ Tracy, Marc (September 30, 2021). "Chicago's brawny tabloid, The Sun-Times, may join a nonprofit group". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  8. ^ Robertson, Katie (January 19, 2022). "Chicago Public Media is set to acquire The Chicago Sun-Times". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  9. ^ Roeder, David (January 18, 2022). "Board of WBEZ parent company approves acquisition of Sun-Times". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  10. ^ Channick, Robert (January 31, 2022). "Chicago Sun-Times becomes nonprofit newspaper with $61 million in backing as WBEZ merger closes". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  11. ^ Marotti, Ally (January 31, 2022). "WBEZ parent raised $61 million for Sun-Times deal". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  12. ^ "This American Life is a weekly public radio program and podcast". This American Life. October 19, 2017. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  13. ^ McDonnell, Jerome (October 4, 2019). ""The Thing That Gives Me Hope Is You": Jerome Thanks Worldview's Listeners". WBEZ. Retrieved January 19, 2022.