ChicagoNow
 ChicagoNow logo | |
Type of site | Blogging site |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Dissolved | August 18, 2022 |
| Owner | Tribune Publishing |
| URL | www.chicagonow.com |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | August 2009 |
ChicagoNow[1] was a blogging site managed by Tribune Publishing, owner of the print Chicago Tribune newspaper. It featured a network of blogs of international, national, and local interest on a variety of topics ranging from crime to public schools to politics and diplomacy.[2]
Notable ChicagoNow contributors included the staff of the Chicago Reporter,[3] and Shimer College president Susan Henking.[4]
On August 18, 2022, the site was shut down with no announcement.[5]
History
ChicagoNow was launched in August 2009.[6][7] Its launch coincided with the Tribune company's bankruptcy.[8] As a newspaper-run blogging community, with the initial tagline "a blog by and for locals", it represented what one observer called "a new value proposition for newspapers".[8]
ChicagoNow used Movable Type as its blogging platform when it first launched, then switched to WordPress in 2011.[9]
The website of the Tribune daily RedEye was initially hosted on ChicagoNow but later moved to its own domain.[10]
After the acquisition of the Tribune by Alden Global Capital, ChicagoNow was shut down without warning on August 18, 2022.[5]
Reception
In April 2010, the World Editors Forum described ChicagoNow as a "hyperlocal blog network" that has "a personal quality that many larger newspapers lack."[11]
In September 2010, Time Out Chicago criticized ChicagoNow for hosting an unidentified police officer in what they called "a hate-filled, racist rant by blogger Joe the Cop entitled 'The ghetto shooting template' for three days and counting now."[12] ChicagoNow removed the posts in question, stating that while they don't edit posts, they reserve the right to remove them.[13]
References
- ^ "ChicagoNow". www.chicagonow.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ^ Rao, Leena (April 24, 2010). "The Tribune Company Finds An Audience For Homegrown Hyperlocal News Site ChicagoNow". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- ^ "About | Chicago Muckrakers". ChicagoNow. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
- ^ "About Shimer Prez". ChicagoNow. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
- ^ a b Kaufmann, Justine (August 25, 2022). "ChicagoNow is now Chicago history after Tribune shuts down blog network". Axios. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ "About ChicagoNow". ChicagoNow. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ^ Tribune Media Group, "Reach and Engage Chicago's Blogging Community" Archived January 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Rachel Davis Mersey (2010). Can Journalism be Saved?: Rediscovering America's Appetite for News. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-0313392085.
- ^ "Welcome to ChicagoNow 2.0". ChicagoNow. June 29, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ^ "RedEye | ChicagoNow". Archived from the original on December 18, 2009.
- ^ Jaffe, Alexandra (April 26, 2010). "ChicagoNow offers hope for hyperlocal news sites". World Editors Forum. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- ^ Sennett, Frank (September 23, 2010). "Trib's ChicagoNow hosts cop's racist rant three days and counting". Time Out Chicago. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- ^ "Why we removed 2 Arresting Tales posts". ChicagoNow Staff Blog. September 23, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
External links
- Official website
- Tribune Media Group's ChicagoNow 2009 introduction
