40-50 New Hires Expected After WBEZ Merger With Chicago Sun-Times

From a story on localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu by Mark Jacob headlined “40-50 New Hires Expected After WBEZ Merger With Chicago Sun-Times”:

Chicago Public Media, parent of one of the most prominent public radio stations in the country, WBEZ, has signed a letter of intent to acquire a legacy newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times. The move would further transform the city’s news environment, recently shaken by a hedge fund’s acquisition of the Chicago Tribune and buyouts that dramatically cut staffing there.

The Medill Local News Initiative’s Mark Jacob interviewed Chicago Public Media CEO Matt Moog and WBEZ’s Chief Content Officer, Tracy Brown. Among their statements: WBEZ will remain an active collaborator with many other outlets, not just the Sun-Times; there are no plans to cut the number of print days at the Sun-Times; it’s “understandable” that WBEZ staff were upset over how the merger announcement was handled; and there’s an “expectation” of 40-50 new hires after the deal closes.