I was very interested to learn that Sun Times Media, the company that owns The Straight Dope Message Board, is set to be acquired by Chicago Public Media, the parent company of WBEZ, the NPR affiliate here. Here are the announcements from each:
It isn’t a done-deal but must be pretty far along for it to be made public. I think it’s great news and it could really a boon for journalism in the region. It will be interesting to see what happens. I don’t read papers much anymore but I get the majority of my news from WBEZ.
So how does the Sun Times compare with the Tribune nowadays? Back when I paid attention to newspapers the Tribune was the heavyweight, serious newspaper while the Sun-Times was the lightweight. But the Tribune was recently taken over by a hedge fund that specializes in gutting the news department.
As a long-time Tribune reader, I understand some, but disapprove overall. They offered buyouts to all of their opinion contributors, and most took them. More than that, however, it does seem like the news coverage has become more sensationalized. Also, I don’t know that they’re using AP / UPI more, but it seems that way - there is less “Tribune Exclusive” content. I’m actually considering changing to the Sun Times, but I like the Trib’s comics section better.
As a former proud owner of one of the early “SDMB” t-shirts, I’d donate about fiddy dollahs to that cause if I got a canvas bag with the original logo on each side. Or perhaps, the logo at the top near the handles one each side and below that an early Slug Signorino drawing of our beloved Master…
