Dear Friends of Gazette Chicago:
I regret to inform you that Gazette Chicago will not be publishing a print edition in September. Our website does have a fresh line-up of news stories and other information that will benefit you and readers living within the ten diverse communities that we cover, and others across the Chicago area. These are samples of the type of award-winning stories that make an impact in your lives and that of your neighbors—and to which you have grown accustomed over the past four decades.
I need to share with you some sobering thoughts about Gazette Chicago. We are facing some very difficult financial headwinds. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you as I have been sharing news of our fiscal challenges with you since we began our 40th year of publishing in May 2022. Each issue, we have provided information and asked that you partner with us by making a charitable donation to our fiscal partner, The CivicLab, to help keep us going. I am grateful to those readers who have stepped up to help us.
Our ability to stay financially stable since the pandemic has been challenging at best. Our advertising revenues have declined more than 60% since COVID-19 wrought havoc across the country and around the world. Coupled with a steady loss of advertisers over the past 15 years due to businesses transitioning to the internet and social media, numerous loyal Gazette Chicago advertisers shutting their doors or cancelling their ads, and new businesses shunning the value of our community newspaper, a perfect storm of financial wreckage was created. Each week, two newspapers across the United States cease operations.
I am hoping Gazette Chicago will not become one of the newspapers to fold in the near future. However, to be fully transparent with you, we are in a difficult financial situation.
For the past few years, advertising revenues have not kept up with our monthly expenses. The pandemic also resulted in a 70% increase in paper costs which our printer has passed down to us.
We have tried other means of raising revenue, including a Go Fund Me effort and by joining the Chicago Independent Media Alliance (CIMA) three years ago. The Go Fund Me effort was raising some money, but then COVID-19 raised its ugly head, and in good conscience, I suspended our Go Fund Me drive so readers and friends could direct their resources to people who needed the support of others just to survive. The CIMA fundraisers have provided some income for us, but not sustainable revenue streams over a long period of time.
We honestly tried to put out an issue in September (you can see that we assigned a bunch of stories that are now on the website), but following a pattern of recent months, revenue streams fell far short of the break-even point. I cannot, in good conscience, go deeper in debt with our printer—who has been extremely supportive of us.
So, what can we do to calm these unsettling waters and steady our ship?
Please, make a donation in support of Gazette Chicago TODAY. To be totally transparent, your support will help pay down the debt to our printer and help bring our heads back above water.
If you value Gazette Chicago—whether you’ve been a reader for six months or 16 years—or even 40 years—then please respond generously to this request. I have poured my heart, soul, and personal resources into this community newspaper for 41 years now. I’m no longer able to draw from my limited resources. We need your help.
As I mentioned, The CivicLab, based in Chicago, serves as our fiscal agent, since Gazette Chicago does not have non-profit status. All donations to The CivicLab that are directed to Gazette Chicago, are tax deductible as allowed by law and will be forwarded to us. Donations can be sent to The CivicLab, 1643 N. Larrabee St., Suite i, Chicago, IL 60614. Donors should write “Gazette Chicago” in the memo section of their check.
If you are a business owner, organization leader, or government official and wish to advertise, please contact our advertising manager, Julie Becker, at [email protected], or contact me at [email protected].
We will make another attempt to publish in October. In the meantime, please lend us a hand—we hope that you value what we have provided our communities since May 1983. Every donation will make a difference.
We are all so grateful for following and valuing Gazette Chicago. Wish us well—I will stay in touch.
Respectfully,
Mark J. Valentino
Editor and Publisher
[email protected]
On behalf of:
William S. Bike
Associate Editor
Anne Nordhaus-Bike
Assistant Editor
Julie Becker
Advertising Manager
Carmen P. Valentino
Business Manager