Public radio owner buys Sun-Times in big Chicago media deal

By TALI ARBEL and SARA BURNETT
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — The combination of two storied Chicago news brands has created one of the country’s largest local nonprofit news organizations. Chicago Public Media, which owns WBEZ, the local NPR affiliate, has bought the Chicago Sun-Times, the punchy tabloid with roots that stretch back to the mid-19th century. The Sun-Times will be an independent subsidiary of Chicago Public Media. While nonprofit local newsrooms remain rare in U.S. media, there has been a growing push to create them as the pressures of a declining business model force consolidation and increasing ownership by hedge funds and private equity.