CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Chicago Reader says the city has suddenly removed its news boxes across the Loop.
“We discovered via an announcement on Twitter from a fellow journalist that these racks were being removed,” said Chicago Reader Associate Publisher Amber Nettles. “These are the multiple racks that you see throughout downtown.”
Nettles said the city removed more than 80 of the permanent news racks without notice or reason. She called the move frustrating and said the Reader recently returned to weekly publication “in part because of the conversations that were happening in this community about racks being empty.
“We’re a free newspaper,” Nettles said. “The Chicago Reader has been around for over 50 years, and it’s always free. We believe in the accessibility of the news and making sure that our information is available to people on the street.”
The Reader has a weekly circulation of 60,000, and Nettles said the removal of the news racks reduced their circulation in the busiest area in Chicago by about two-thirds.
That's not good for those who have purchased advertising.
“Ultimately, yes, we say, ‘We’re delivering this number of papers to this area,’ and that’s important for our advertisers because that’s why they make decisions about purchasing ads with us,” Nettles said.
Leaders at the Reader are talking to city officials about those removed newsracks.
“Our goal is to make sure that the news and information we provide to the community — and have done so for 50 years — will still be available,” she said.
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