The nonprofit owner of the Chicago Sun-Times is calling for staff reductions that will fall heavily on the publication’s newsroom employees.
The cutbacks could be the deepest Chicago Public Media has ordered since it absorbed the Sun-Times in 2022. The noncash acquisition by the owner of public radio station WBEZ was an innovative attempt to preserve local journalism under a nonprofit umbrella, but the combined operations have been unable to stop financial bleeding.
Melissa Bell, CEO of Chicago Public Media, disclosed the planned cuts Wednesday in announcements to donors and employees. She said staff will be offered incentives to voluntarily exit via buyouts. The offer will be made to Sun-Times staff and to non-newsroom workers at WBEZ.
The move could save the company from $3 million to $5 million in annual expenses, possibly representing the departure of 20 to 30 people.
“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,” Bell said in a letter to donors.
“This is a proactive decision that allows us to align our organization’s size with our goals while strengthening our most valuable and impactful initiatives and ensuring our financial sustainability,” Bell said. “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.”
Her letter did not detail expected savings from the buyouts. A company spokeswoman said no specific individuals or reporting functions are being targeted.
Bell said in an interview that the buyouts could start in mid-March.
“I came here only four months ago because I was intrigued and excited about the project” to unite the Sun-Times and WBEZ, she said. The cutbacks are “one more step we need to take to set it up for its future success.”
Jennifer Kho, executive editor of the Sun-Times, said the reductions follow from plans to combine the Sun-Times and WBEZ newsrooms. She said there is no executive editor role in the reorganization, which is still being finalized, and that her role with the company is to be determined.
Kho said the Sun-Times newsroom will bear the brunt of the reductions because it is the largest unit within the organization.
“I think this is our best chance of continuing to inform our audience. It’s about long-term sustainability,” she said. “I feel that the strategy overall has worked. Our audience overall is growing.”
The Sun-Times has an editorial staff of 104 people, while WBEZ has 64 people working in its newsroom, Chicago Public Media said. The total number of employees, including non-editorial workers at both divisions, is 278.
The Sun-Times’ combination with WBEZ in 2022 was a noncash purchase, but it included a $61 million philanthropic infusion from leading foundations. The money is intended to support operations through 2026.
It covers a $12 million annual operating deficit at the Sun-Times, the company said. The approaching end of that grant period has forced Chicago Public Media to look harder at cost cuts while stepping up calls for donations.
The Sun-Times has increased its pitches for support from online readers, who currently enjoy access to online content without hitting a paywall. Other readers who pay for subscriptions to the traditional print paper may be asked to increase their contributions.
Both editorial staffs include unionized members. Most Sun-Times newsroom employees are members of the Chicago News Guild.
A co-chair of its bargaining unit, Sun-Times reporter Nader Issa, said in a statement: “Our union is frustrated that our organization’s management did not secure more revenue in the past three years to avoid staffing cuts and secure our sustainability. While we understand this move is meant to cut long-term costs, it’s harder to swallow knowing the exorbitant executive salaries and bonuses we’ve seen CPM shell out in the past few years. We hope everyone at the organization will share in the pain on our path to sustainability.”
To achieve goals from buyouts, companies typically offer enhanced terms for severance and continuation of health insurance to induce workers to quit. Bell said terms of the buyout offer will be announced after the company gets feedback via an employee survey.
In recent months, Chicago Public Media workers have criticized pay levels for top executives. They have voiced bitterness about the salary paid former CEO Matt Moog, who left in 2024. Tax filings show Moog was paid $722,861 for 2023, his last full year of employment. Moog resigned after union complaints that an unidentified executive subjected workers to hostile conditions.
Bell said it has paid salaries in line with recommendations from outside consultants and has no immediate plans to reduce executive pay or ask for furloughs.
Those typically are temporary measures, while the buyouts represent ongoing cost savings, Bell said. She said cuts were not sought from the WBEZ newsroom because it sustained significant layoffs a year ago.
All media organizations have wrestled with declines in traditional revenue sources from advertising and subscriptions. But in Chicago Public Media’s case, the situation could be worsened if President Donald Trump cuts back support for public broadcasting, which some supporters have threatened.
Audited financial statements show Chicago Public Media has received around $1.4 million in annual backing from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Asked if a paywall will be reimposed at suntimes.com, Bell said executives “will be having discussions about that” and other ideas for raising revenue.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.