ANNUAL REPORT 2020

November 1, 2020

@ChiIndyM

ediaSaveChicagoM

edia.com

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ABOUT CIMA

We need partnerships and new ideas, collaborations and support, to make sure these voices are not allowed to wither. "Tracy Baim, Co-Publisher, Chicago Reader

We asked for information about their business model, their coverage areas, what languages they speak, and whether they’d be interested in collaborative projects. Most responded that they would like to collaborate, and we have already begun those partnerships.

We see a path forward where media can work together on both editorial and revenue, including joint projects on news and culture topics, and on fundraising ventures. In fact, due to COVID-19, we did do a major emergency fundraiser in May 2020. It raised $104,000 from individuals and $60,000 in matching funds from foundations. Forty-three of our CIMA members participated.

As a group, we are also advocating for more funding from foundations, more equity in the way government agencies spend money in media, and for more corporate advertising through authentic community media.

Community, neighborhood, and ethnic media—whatever you want to call us—reach vital and important parts of this city long ignored by mainstream media. But just as larger media companies are struggling, so are community media. We need partnerships and new ideas, collaborations and support, to make sure these voices are not allowed to wither.

The Chicago Independent Media Alliance (CIMA) is a project of the Chicago Reader newspaper. CIMA was launched in the summer of 2019, soon after the Reader became newly independent.

As the Reader navigates the final move to nonprofit 501(c)3 status in 2021, CIMA already has 66 members representing 82 media entities.

The Chicago Reader, founded in 1971, is the city’s largest free alternative newspaper. It was the rst free weekly in the country, and is known for its award-winning cultural and investigative work, and for being a voice for those challenging institutional power and corrupt politicians. In the summer of 2019, the Chicago Reader sent a survey to 103 independent media outlets in the Chicago area, ranging in size and scope from small all-volunteer nonprots to large independent newspapers.

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CIMA Partners1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.

23.24.25.26.27.28.29.

30.

AirGo RadioBetter Government AssociationBlack Youth ProjectBlock Club ChicagoBorderless MagazineBronzecommBronzeville LifeChalkbeat ChicagoChicago CrusaderChicago in ArabicChicago MonitorChicago Music GuideChicago ParentChicago Public SquareChicago ReaderChicago Sun-TimesCHIRP RadioCicero IndependienteCitizen Newspaper Group: Citizen Newspaper, Conversations with the Citizen podcastCity BureauContratiempoCurrent Magazine: South Side Current, West of the Ryan Current, The New West Side CurrentDziennik Związkowy - Polish Daily NewsE3 RadioFree Spirit MediaGazette ChicagoGozamosGRAB MagazineGrowing Community Media: Austin Weekly News, Forest Park Review, Riverside-Brookfield Landmark, Wednesday Community JournalHi India

66 outlets reporting 82 media entities

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31. Hyde Park Herald32. Injustice Watch33. Inside Publications: Inside Booster, News-Star, Skyline34. Invisible Institute35. Juneteenth Productions36. Kartemquin Films37. KEY - This Week in Chicago38. La Raza39. Left Out Magazine40. Loop North News41. McKinley Park News42. N’Digo43. New City44. North Lawndale Community News45. OTV | Open Television46. Public Media Institute: Lumpen Radio, Lumpen Magazine, Quarantine Times47. Public Narrative48. Rebellious Magazine for Women49. Rivet50. Sixty Inches from Center51. Soapbox Productions & Organizing52. South Side Weekly53. StreetWise54. Student Xpress Magazine55. The Arab Daily News56. The Beverly Review57. The Chicago Reporter58. The Daily Line59. Third Coast Review60.True Star Foundation & Media61. Urban Gateways (Mildsauce.org)62. Via Times Newsmagazine63. Village Free Press64. Vocalo Radio65. Windy City Times66. Win-TV

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Editorial

Advertising Sales

Grant Writing

Health Insurance

Joint Fundraising

Joint Visibilty Campaign

Gov. Policy & Advocacy

Events Fundraising

Events Educational

Shared Services

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60

54

52

45

24

50

57

36

48

57

31

Colla

bora

tive

Effo

rts

Responses

Yes 68.66%

No 31.34%

Would you work with other local media on collaborative projects?

Would you be interested in the creation of a large media center with shared of�ces, meeting rooms, shared back-end services, incubator space, etc.?

- Out of 66 responses, 1 did not respond- 46 said yes- 21 said no

- Out of 66 responses, 1 did not respond- Outlets were able to choose more than one option. - Call out numbers represent how many of the 66 outlets individually chose that collaborative effort.- Shared services include accounting and human resources.

Overview

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Yes 68.18%

No 31.82%

Do you have a physical of�ce?

ChicagoPolitics

Education

Culture

Arts

Health

Social issues

CommunityMusic

Entertainment

News

Race

Local

Business

Black

NeighborhoodsHousing

Events

Immigration Race

Criminal Justice

Youth

West sideEnvironment

South side Narrative

LGTBQ

People

Sports

Technology

Multilingual

Theatre

Polish-Americans

Lifestyle

Homelessness

Economics

Suburban

feminism

Downtown

Minority rights

Arab-AmericansSouthwest side

Hyde Park

North side

Hispanic

Chicago Public Schools

Tourism

Indian-Americans

Gender

Religion

McKinely ParkNear West Side

University Village

West Loop

South Loop

West Haven

Bridgeport

Armour Square

Chinatown

Bronzeville

East Pilsen

Heart of Chicago

What beats do you cover?

- Out of 66 responses, 1 did not respond- 46 said yes- 21 said no

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OwnershipAre you incorporated?

85.71%

14.29%

- Out of 63 responses, 3 did not respond- 54 said yes- 9 said no

LLC L3C S-Corp C-Corp Nonpro�t 501c4 501c3 Soleproprietorship

18

1

10 11

18

1

22

2

Structure

If incorporated, what is your ownership or nonpro�t structure?

- 10 outlets did not respond - Outlets were able to chose more than one answer- Numbers are exact results, not percentages

Advertising

Merchandise

Events/Bene�ts

Classes

Memberships

Subscriptions

Grants

Donations

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

42

20

30

8

13

23

31

36

What are your categories of revenue? (Check all that apply)- Outlets were able to check all that applied. - 42 chose advertising- 36 chose donations- 31 chose grants- 30 chose events/benefits- 23 chose subscriptions- 20 chose merchandising- 13 chose memberships- 8 chose classes - Out of 66 responses, 1 did not respond

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25.37%

46.27%

10.45%11.94%

2.99%2.99%

0

1-5

6-10

11-25

26-50

51+

36.36%

57.58%

6.06%0

1-5

6-10

Number of paid full time staff/full time equivalent?

Number of paid part time staff?

Out of 66 responses, 1 did not respond - 18 said zero.

- 30 said 1-5 - 7 said 6-10

- 7 said 11-25 - 2 said 26-50

- 1 said 51 +

Employment

No 59.09%

Yes 40.91%

Do you have multiple media products all owned/operated by the same parent company?

Out of 66 responses, 2 did not respond- 27 said yes- 39 said no

Out of 66 responses, 2 did not respond- 23 said zero- 37 said 1-5- 4 said 6-10

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58.06%27.42%

3.23%4.84%

4.84%1.61%0

1-5

6-10

11-25

26-50

51+

Yes 46.03%

No 53.97%

Number of unpaid freelancers per year? Do you offer health insurance to your full time staff?

Out of 66 responses, 4 did not respond

- 36 said zero

- 17 said 1-5

- 3 said 11-25

- 3 said 26-50

- 1 said 51+

Out of 66 responses, 3 did not respond- 34 said no - 29 said yes

54.24%37.29%

3.39%3.39%1.69%0

1-5

6-10

11-25

26-50

Number of unpaid full time staff/full time equivalent?

Out of 66 responses, 7 did not respond - 32 said zero- 22 said 1-5- 2 said 6-10

- 2 said 11-25 - 1 said 26-50

Number of paid freelancers per year?

20.00%

40.00%18.46%

10.77%3.08%7.69%0

1-5

6-10

11-25

26-50

51+

Out of 66 responses, 1 did not respond

- 13 said zero

- 26 said 1-5

- 11 said 6-10

- 7 said 11-25

- 2 said 26-50

- 5 said 51+

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Primary ethnic or niche communities reached?

Out of 66 responses

DemographicsGeneral

African American

Latinx/Hispanic

Asian

Indigenous

LGTBQIA

Polish

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26

26

16

11

6

2

4

1

Com

mun

ities

Yes 10.94%

No 89.06%

Do you offer health insurance to your part time staff?

Out of 66 responses, 2 did not respond - 57 said no- 7 said yes

Does part or all of your staff belong to a union?

Yes 7.69%

No 92.31%Out of 66 responses, 1 did not respond

- 60 said no- 5 said yes

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What geographic areas do you cover?

-Out of 66 responses, 3 did not respond

Chicago 31.16%

Cook County 17.59%Suburban Chicago 16.08%

Illinois 14.07%

Regional Midwest 0.50%National 14.07%

International 6.53%

English 74.68%Spanish 20.25%

Arabic 1.27%Cantonese 1.27%

Polish 1.27%Hindi 1.27%

What languages do you produce in?

59 said English16 said Spanish

1 Arabic1 Cantonese

1 Polish 1 Hindi

-Out of 66 responses-Outlets were able to choose more than one option

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40 did not respond

35 did not respond

What is your estimated reach in print?12

10

8

6

4

2

0

0-5K 5K-15k 15k-25k 25k-50k 50k-100k 100k+

12 8 6 2 21

Frequency

Distribution

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Daily Weekly BiWeekly Monthly Quarterly Yearly

4 12 3 3 3 1

Frequency

What is your media outlet frequency in print?

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- 20 did not respond

What is the total list size of your e-mail newsletters?12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

What is your website monthly unique page views?9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

What is your average monthly attendance for events/workshops/classes?

16

12

8

4

0

0 1-25 26-50 51-100 101-300 300+ N/A

23 3 6 4 4 17

Num

ber o

f Out

lets

Attendance numbers

-39 responded, 25 did not respond-Attendance numbers collected before COVID-19 pandemic

Combined content consumers (outside of social media)

Print (all frequencies combined)

Email newsletters (all frequenciescombined)

Web monthly unique page views

0 1M 2M 3M 4M 5M 6M

695,020

480,578

6,112,294

Consumers

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What are your total social media followers on Twitter?

Combined followers on social media

2019

Facebook Twitter Instagram

-Facebook: 1,787,606 -Twitter: 710,126- Instagram: 159,768

Combined total is 2,657,500.

What are your total social media followers on Instagram?

For 501c3s: Are you ALAANA quali�ed?

Yes 41.38%

No 58.62%

Out of 29 responses, 39 did not respond.

- 12 said yes

- 17 said no

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

0 1-25% 26-50% 51-75% 76-99% 100% N/A No board

0 5 5 4 0 8 9 2

Num

ber o

f Out

lets

If your organization has a board, what percentage of your board members have ALAANA (African, Latino, Asian, Arab, and Native American) status?

ALAANA

Out of 66 responses, 33 did not respond

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What percentage of your business leadership has ALAANA status?16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

0 1-25% 26-50% 51-75% 76-99% 100% N/A

7 4 6 3 0 16 5

Num

ber o

f Out

lets

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

0 1-25% 26-50% 51-75% 76-99% 100% N/A

5 3 9 51

13 5

Num

ber o

f Out

lets

What percentage of your editorial leadership has ALAANA status?

42 responded, 26 did not respond

42 responded, 26 did not respond

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In SummaryJust as Chicago thrives when its diverse people, neighborhoods, and communities come together, Chicago media will continue to thrive—and survive—when our diverse media outlets join forces across our shared passion for the transformative power of journalism.

Without journalism, including outlets that authentically cover communities, we will lose the watchdogs that keep corruption at bay. It has been shown that corruption increases when local media die. We need journalists to watch the powerful, to speak with and for those not in power, and to amplify the stories—good and bad—that make up the fabric of the city.

The reality, though, is that journalism as an industry cannot continue without help. The old ways that we used to fund ourselves are no longer viable or available, and we need to find a new way forward together. The Reader, and the Chicago Independent Media Alliance, believe in our ability to navigate the path forward with two distinct and important components in our roadmap: nonprofit status and vigorous collaboration. More than ever before, our colleagues in community media agree with us that cooperation, alongside the editorial competition that has made our journalism landscape thrive, will cement a future for all of us.

On the surface, funding community journalism may not seem to achieve many nonprofits’ goals of providing services to at-risk populations, supporting the arts, or championing social justice causes. But dig a little deeper, and you realize that you need journalists to uncover those peoples’ stories and what they need, to critique and review the arts, and to hold those in power accountable on issues that make the city a better and more just place.

Whether you fund the arts, homeless issues, criminal justice, education, the environment, social justice or something else, the work you do depends, in no small part, on the work of journalists.

Thank you for all you do for the city. We look forward to continuing this conversation with you and including you on this journey toward strengthening Chicago’s community journalism ecosystem, now and for generations to come. CONTACT: Yazmin Dominguez, CIMA Coordinatorydominguez@chicagoreader.com Tracy Baim, Co-Publisher, Chicago Readertbaim@chicagoreader.com773-387-2394 Karen Hawkins, Co-Publisher, Chicago Readerkhawkins@chicagoreader.com

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mailto:ydominguez@chicagoreader.commailto:khawkins@chicagoreader.com