By William S. Bike
Do you enjoy reading Gazette Chicago every month? Do you appreciate it when Gazette Chicago gives you information about our local communities and the city that you can get nowhere else? Do you like learning about the products and services our advertisers offer?
Then become an anniversary supporter of Gazette Chicago and member of the Gazette Chicago team by making a regularly scheduled, one-time, or occasional tax-deductible donation.
As Gazette Chicago enters its 40th year, the publication is partnering with the CivicLab to enable our friends and supporters to donate, with the goal of raising $250,000 to keep Gazette Chicago serving you for decades to come.
CivicLab is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit, a community-facing “do tank” dedicated to accelerating and deepening grassroots activism and social justice. With a mission similar to that of Gazette Chicago, CivicLab has agreed to serve as a conduit for donations to Gazette Chicago,making those donations tax deductible.
“For years, Gazette Chicago has covered and worked with CivicLab as they have taken on City and State government in support of society’s most vulnerable,” said Mark J. Valentino, editor and publisher of Gazette Chicago. “Our missions are similar, so CivicLab is a great partner. We are grateful that they have agreed to become our fiscal agent to accept donations on our behalf as we are a for-profit news organization. Please keep in mind that our ‘for profit’ status is a misnomer—we have struggled with at best, break-even margins in recent years.
“By making a regularly scheduled, one-time, or occasional donation through CivicLab, our readers, supporters, and advertisers can keep Gazette Chicagoproviding the news, commentary, and advertising on which they’ve come to rely,” he added.
How to donate
You can provide funding to Gazette Chicago in several ways. One is to make out a check to CivicLab and mail it to CivicLab, 1643 N. Larrabee St., Suite i, Chicago IL 60614, with “Gazette Chicago” on the memo line.
Another is to make credit card payment using Action Network by clicking on www.tinyurl.com/Support-Gazette-Chicago. Where it says, “Is this donation for a specific project or organization? If so, which?” type in “Gazette Chicago.” Where it asks what ward you live in, if you do not know, type in “N/A” or “don’t know.”
With the 40th anniversary volume of Gazette Chicago underway, you can partner with the newspaper in a variety of anniversary-themed ways. Make a monthly donation of $40 to help celebrate the newspaper’s anniversary. Make a monthly donation of $19.83, to honor the year of the newspaper’s founding. Make a monthly donation of $4 to remember the newspaper’s four decades of service to the local community. Or, make a monthly donation in any amount of your choosing.
“Monthly donations provide a steady source of income to guarantee that we will be able to provide you with the news coverage and information about our advertisers that you expect and deserve,” Valentino said.
One-time or occasional donations are equally important.
“Gazette Chicago has fixed monthly expenses, but the revenues we raise from advertising fluctuate from month to month, especially as we continue to climb out of the challenges of the pandemic,” Valentino explained. “So one-time or occasional donations definitely help.
“Larger donations will really make an impact and help us reach our goal of raising $250,000 over the next two years. One-time donations of $1,000 or more would make this goal a reality. I would welcome a conversation with anyone willing to make a donation at this level or greater.
“We call the recurring donations ‘membership’ support and this is the wave of legacy news media across the United States,” Valentino added.
Valuable partnership
Why has Gazette Chicagopartnered with CivicLab to take donations?
“It’s no secret that keeping a newspaper alive and thriving in today’s economy is difficult,” Valentino said. “Since 2004, more than 1,800 newspapers in the United States have shut down.
“Gazette Chicago’s revenue comes completely from advertising,” Valentino continued. “Newspapers all over the country lost advertising in the economic downturn of 2008, and lost even more with the economic downturn that came with the COVID-19 pandemic the last two years.”
Tim Franklin, senior associate dean, professor, and John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communications, agreed, saying “The business model for local news has imploded. For decades, local news outlets relied primarily on advertising revenue to support themselves. But the advertising-driven model for local news has collapsed. Technology and new media platforms have splintered audiences and soaked up digital ad dollars. This trend has been accelerated the past two years by the pandemic, which crushed local news.”
“Print advertising revenue for newspapers has declined substantially since its peak in the early 2000s, and digital ad revenue hasn’t grown enough to close the gap,” said Amy Merrick, a lecturer in journalism and media arts at DePaul University. “Many established news outlets are looking to new revenue sources, such as offering memberships, asking for donations, or selling merchandise. Often, newsrooms want to develop a mix of revenue streams to avoid becoming too dependent on any single source.”
According to the Pew Research Center, newspaper advertising went from about $49 billion in 2006 to just $9 billion in 2020. “And the overwhelming majority of new digital advertising revenue now goes to three companies—Google, Facebook and Amazon,” Franklin explained. “These economic headwinds have led to a rise in the number of local news deserts in the U.S. More than 200 entire counties now have no source of local news, and many of the remaining outlets are ghosts of their former selves.”
To keep Gazette Chicago strong and its community informed, “We need to add to our revenue in a new way,” Valentino explained. “More income will mean larger issues of the newspaper containing more information that our readers can use, more resources devoted to digging out the news that government officials don’t want to see but that readers do, and more copies of the newspaper on the street.”
Valentino also noted that, unlike most community newspapers in 2022, Gazette Chicago remains independent.
“We have no larger company dictating what we can cover and who we can criticize, but we have no larger company providing us with funding, either,” Valentino explained. “Our independence allows us to cover the news as it develops, benefiting our readers without us being concerned about whose toes we’re stepping on.”
‘Making democracy happen’
Why has CivicLab decided to partner with Gazette Chicago?
“Local journalism is a lynchpin of democracy,” explained Tom Tresser, CivicLab co-founder. “Even in the early days of the republic, small newspapers helped develop Americans’ civic literacy. That role is just as important today, and Gazette Chicago does that.
“The CivicLab is about making democracy happen at the grassroots level,” Tresser continued. “Journalism is changing, but it remains an important part of our democracy. Local newspapers such as Gazette Chicago are part of America’s infrastructure of civics.”
“Newspapers like Gazette Chicago are at the forefront of providing a voice for everyone, but particularly for Black and Brown communities, whose voices often are left out of the larger media,” explained Jonathan Peck, CivicLab’s CEO. “Gazette Chicago and newspapers like it are an integral component at the core of democracy in terms of holding power accountable and telling stories that wouldn’t otherwise be told. It’s all about the voice.
“Gazette Chicago has been an incredible ally in getting the CivicLab’s stories out,” Peck added. “If we don’t stand up for local newspapers, we will be far worse off as a city and as a country.”
“I look forward to working with Gazette Chicago for another 40 years,” Tresser said.
“Since our founding in 1983, Gazette Chicago’s award-winning coverage has made a difference in our communities,” Valentino said.
Gazette Chicago’s loyal following is second to none in the city, Valentino said, noting, “We challenge anyone to find a community newspaper that is more widely read and picked up so quickly on distribution day.”
Gazette Chicago has delivered for its readers over the decades. The publication won four Peter J. Lisagor Awards for journalistic excellence from the Chicago Headline Club and Society of Professional Journalists, more than 40 international Apex Awards, ten awards from the Illinois Woman’s Press Association, the Bernadine C. Washington Media Award from the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations, and the McKinley Foundation Social Justice Award.
Its coverage of taxes, hospitals, and public housing have led to positive changes over the decades.
Just in the last year, Gazette Chicago has provided unique coverage on numerous vital issues such as COVID-19, local transportation, gentrification, developments such as One Central and Roosevelt Square, local hospitals, and local police.
“The diversity of our staff allows us to provide in-depth coverage of communities often neglected by other media,” Valentino noted.
“The more our readers donate, the more great news coverage we can provide,” Valentino said.
Experts applaud changes
Increasing numbers of legacy media outlets are finding new funding sources.
Franklin said, “There’s no question that legacy local media outlets across the country are developing new revenue streams to sustain journalism that is essential for their longterm sustainability and for their communities’ information needs.
“Increasingly, legacy local media organizations are reliant on subscriptions and memberships to support their journalism,” Franklin added. “They’re also organizing community events on matters of public concern as a revenue source. They’re increasingly turning to philanthropic organizations and donors who understand that local news is critical to a self-governed democracy. And in a few cases, local news outlets have even converted from for-profit to nonprofit status as a way to attract wider financial support and better serve their community.
“All of this has forced local news outlets to completely rethink their strategies and how they serve their readers, listeners, and viewers,” Franklin said. “Local news organizations have been forced to get creative and diversify their income sources for longterm sustainability.”
Merrick added that “When a newsroom asks for donations or memberships, it has to clarify what value it offers the community and why people should support it. This can be a useful exercise in setting priorities and can motivate news outlets to develop deeper ties with their audience.”
For more information, contact Gazette Chicago at (312) 243-4288 or email [email protected].
Learn more about CivicLab at www.civiclab.us and reach the organization at [email protected].
Partner with Gazette Chicago through donating
As Gazette Chicago enters its 40th year, the publication is partnering with the CivicLab to enable our friends and supporters to donate, with the goal of raising $250,000 to keep Gazette Chicago serving you for decades to come. So you can become a partner in our efforts to continue do the best journalism in Chicago!
You can provide funding to Gazette Chicago in several ways. One is to make out a check to CivicLab and mail it to CivicLab, 1643 N. Larrabee St., Suite i, Chicago IL 60614. Please be sure to add “Gazette Chicago” on the memo line.
Another is to make credit card payment using Action Network by clicking on www.tinyurl.com/Support-Gazette-Chicago. Where it says, “Is this donation for a specific project or organization? If so, which?” type in “Gazette Chicago.” Where it asks what ward you live in, if you do not know, type in “N/A” or “don’t know.”
Giving levels: Here are some suggested ways to make your gift have an impact
Printer level: A recurring monthly donation of $4 (marking our 40th year).
Freelancer level: A one-time donation of $19.83 (to mark our first year of publishing).
Newsseller level: A one-time donation of $40.
Copy editor level: A one-time donation of any amount up to $400.
Reporter level: A recurring monthly donation of $19.83.
Ace reporter level: A recurring monthly donation of $40.
Editor level: A one-time donation of $400 to $999.
Publisher level: A one-time donation of $1,000 or more.
Any amount is welcome! For more information, call (312) 243-4288.