Chicago News Cooperative to suspend operations
A screenshot from a video of a Chicago News Cooperative staff meeting. (Image via chicagonewscoop.org
The Chicago News Cooperative, a non-profit news organization launched in 2009 to add another voice to the city's journalism community, is expected to suspend operations, a source close to the organization told the Tribune Friday.
The CNC, which operates a web site and publishes a section in the Chicago edition of The New York Times twice a week, operates as a non-profit organization. It has a partnership with WTTW-Channel 11, Chicago public television, and WBEZ, Chicago public radio.
The Chicago Reader reported late Friday afternoon that the CNC will cease operation Feb. 26.
A staff member confirmed to the Tribune that next weekend's New York Times section would be CNC's last. Staff members were told in a meeting on Friday by Jim O'Shea, the CNC's managing editor. O'Shea is a former managing editor of the Chicago Tribune. CNC's future prospects were unclear, as officials did not return calls for comment.
While the CNC had been a nonprofit, the hope was that at some point it would generate sufficient revenues on its own. Those revenues haven't materialized, the source said.
