Chief Executive Officer

About Chicago Public Media

Home to the Chicago Sun-Times, WBEZ and Vocalo, Chicago Public Media (‘CPM’) is the largest local non-profit news organization in the country. WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times serve more than 4.4 million people across broadcast, print, and digital platforms each week. As a mission-driven organization, Chicago Public Media aspires to become the essential and most trusted news source Chicago turns to each day to understand the people, events, and ideas that shape America’s third-largest metropolitan community.

Chicago Sun-Times is Chicago’s oldest continuously published daily newspaper and is known for its hard-hitting investigative reporting, in-depth political coverage, timely behind-the-scenes sports analysis, and insightful entertainment and cultural coverage. Winner of eight Pulitzer Prizes, the Sun-Times is known for capturing the spirit and diverse essence of America’s third largest city. Over the years, it has also been home to such nationally celebrated voices as Roger Ebert, Ann Landers, and Mike Royko. In recent years, the Sun-Times has focused on delivering its news and content to a growing digital audience. Most recently, the Sun-Times dropped the paywall on suntimes.com to expand access to its journalism and shift to a community-funded digital membership program supported by voluntary member donations. 

WBEZ is Chicago’s NPR news source and one of the largest and most respected public media stations in the country. WBEZ’s award-winning journalists ask tough questions, dig deep for answers, and expose truths that spark change and foster understanding. Its programming includes local, national, and international news, a wide-ranging portfolio of popular podcasts, and the urban alternative music service, Vocalo.

Throughout its history, WBEZ has had a legacy of innovation as the birthplace of some of the most iconic shows in public media, including This American Life, Serial, and Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me. With more than 86,000 members, WBEZ actively engages the community through its journalism and programming, as well as more than 50 live events and community engagement activities each year.

Chicago Public Media believes independent journalism is essential to a well-functioning democracy and access to fact-based, objective news and information is a right of every citizen. The organization serves the public interest by creating diverse, compelling content that informs, inspires, and enriches. It connects diverse audiences and help them make a difference in the community, the region, and the world.

For more information, see the Chicago Public Media Annual Report. 

Bold Combination, Exciting Vision, Essential Mission

Backed by an unprecedented philanthropic commitment of $61 million, Chicago Public Media acquired the Chicago Sun-Times in 2022. The Sun-Times has a staff of 162, including a team of 60 reporters, serving a paid print circulation of 40,000 home delivery and 12,000 single copy sales and a weekly digital audience of nearly 1.2 million visitors. It operates within Chicago Public Media as a separate 501(c)(3) with its own Board of Directors. With an annual budget of approximately $42 million, the Sun-Times derives revenues from a mix of digital and print advertising, as well as newsstand sales, subscriptions, sponsorships, philanthropy, and a nascent membership program.

WBEZ serves audiences across broadcast, podcast, web, and email platforms. Its broadcast audience reaches nearly 420,000 listeners each week and its flagship daily e-newsletter, The Rundown, boasts more than 470,000 subscribers. Launched in 2006, Vocalo’s audio streams provide urban alternative music and stories 24/7. Its weekly arts newsletter, The Goods, has grown to more than 50,000 subscribers. Together, WBEZ and Vocalo have a staff of 160 and an annual budget of approximately $30 million. Membership, philanthropy, and corporate underwriting make up the majority of revenues. A vibrant live events and community engagement series produces a diverse array of more than 50 events throughout the year and generates a smaller, but growing source of additional revenues.

Chicago Public Media recently embarked on an ambitious strategic plan to produce impactful journalism that reaches a large, representative audience and is sustainably funded. The plan identifies four core strategic priorities for the organization:

1. Content: Become the essential and most trusted source for understanding the people, events, and ideas that shape our community.
2. Audience: Reach and engage a larger, younger, and more diverse audience.
3. Funding: Drive each revenue stream to full potential and develop new sources of revenue.
4. People & Culture: Foster inclusive, innovative, and impactful ways of working.

These four core priorities link to 12 strategic initiatives that will drive CPM’s digital transformation as it looks to the future. The organization has committed additional dollars to accelerate this digital transformation, including investments in content production, technology and product management, and monetization. In doing so, CPM seeks to leverage the tremendous journalism, audiences, and revenue streams of its legacy print and broadcast channels into a dynamic engine of growth and service across digital platforms.

As part of that effort, Chicago Public Media recently completed an ambitious and visionary overhaul of its core production studios. These completely redesigned and fully integrated studios allow journalists and producers across platforms to produce and distribute the highest quality multimedia content, from live broadcasts and podcasts, to film and video, to arts and culture performances. These investments, along with the recent acquisition of the Chicago Sun-Times, have unleashed new excitement about the possibilities for local journalism in Chicago and across the country.

As the largest non-profit news organization in the nation, Chicago Public Media not only has the opportunity to significantly expand its service and impact in Chicago, it has the opportunity to serve as a national model for robust, sustainable, multiplatform local journalism elsewhere.

With a diverse and talented team of award-winning journalists, new state-of the- art production studios, strong brand recognition, and tremendous Board and philanthropic support, Chicago Public Media is well positioned to soar to new heights in this next chapter.

The Opportunity

As the organization moves into its next phase of growth, integration, and execution, CPM is seeking highly experienced, strategic, and mission-driven CEO to lead a new era of journalistic innovation, impact, and sustainability in the Chicago region. The next CEO will relish the opportunity to lead a large, multiplatform news organization with a proud history and an ambition to serve more Chicagoans than ever before.

Reporting to the CPM Board of Directors, the CEO will provide vision and leadership for CPM in service of its mission and is responsible for the overall strategic, financial, and cultural success of the organization. Importantly, the new CEO will be expected to unlock the full potential of the Sun-Times and WBEZ collaboration by developing and articulating a cohesive vision and a clear plan to more fully integrate the operations of each organization, achieving journalistic excellence and financial sustainability in the digital age.

Key responsibilities of the CEO include, among others:

Strategic Leadership

• Provide strategic focus and maintain strategic clarity in an evolving media landscape, ensuring the CPM team is aligned and able to capitalize on opportunities to increase journalistic impact, operational excellence, and financial sustainability.
• Lead the CPM Board and team in identifying and implementing strategic initiatives that expand CPM’s capacity to serve new and existing audiences and grow revenues.
• Serve as a thought leader and provide innovative leadership to grow and guide CPM’s relevance and impact.
• Stay abreast of current and emerging developments in journalism and media, including the latest technologies, platforms and audience behaviors and draw clear insights from those trends.
• Using both quantitative data and qualitative feedback, continuously evaluate and refine strategies to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of CPM’s initiatives.

Operational Leadership

• Provide ultimate leadership for all aspects of a complex, multi-platform news organization, including financial oversight of a combined ~$72 million annual operating budget.
• Articulate and design an organizational structure that allows CPM to deliver on its mission and strategy.
• Ensure CPM’s org structure, strategy, budget, and workflows are clearly aligned across the organization, enabling the delivery of outstanding results in a timely way.
• Lead Executive Team and others in providing the resources necessary for CPM to fulfill its public service mission and ambitions in a spirit of both excellence and innovation.
• Ensure that organizational resources are efficiently deployed and stewarded to meet CPM’s mission over the short and long term.

Human Leadership

• Lead and nurture a world-class, high-performing team of 300+ employees.
• Cultivate a vibrant and inclusive culture of active collaboration, deep respect, empathy, and accountability.
• Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, resulting in a deep sense of belonging for all members of the CPM team.
• Create the conditions necessary to ensure CPM remains a coveted destination for top talent from a diverse array of skills, identities, and perspectives.
• Ensure a culture of growth and professional development for CPM employees through active listening and continuous learning.
• Actively engage the staff, boards, and community in the work of the organization, exemplifying the organization’s mission and values at all times.

Fundraising & Revenue Generation

• Serve as the leading voice and external face of CPM, effectively communicating its mission and impact to a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Ensure successful fundraising from individuals, corporations, foundations, and others.
• Generate new sources of revenue by creatively and strategically expanding and deepening the existing donor base and earned revenue streams.
• Expand and develop fundraising opportunities through new and ongoing strategic partnerships.
• Actively steward new and existing relationships to grow support for CPM’s mission and strategy over the short and long-term.

Direct reports to the CEO currently include the Chief Content Officer; Chief Financial Officer; Chief Product Officer; Chief Advancement Officer; Chief People Officer; VP of Advertising & Sponsorships; VP, General Counsel & Assistant Secretary; Vice President of Circulation; and Director of Marketing.

Candidate Profile

While it is understood that no candidate will offer every desired skill, quality, and characteristic, the following offers a detailed, aspirational view of the ideal candidate profile:

An Exceptional People Leader & Inclusive Culture Builder

This leader will:

• Be a highly emotionally intelligent executive with a proven track record of developing positive, productive, collaborative cultures, ideally within large and complex environments.
• Be an experienced and transformational change agent, energized by the opportunity to fully integrate the WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times teams, developing one cohesive identity and culture, while valuing and celebrating the unique history and strengths of each.
• Have an authentic, transparent, and accessible style, modeling respect, curiosity, and empathy in every interaction.
• Embrace the opportunity to develop trust-based relationships at all levels of the organization, including with the staff, unions, and boards.
• Have a demonstrated fluency and commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, exhibiting deep cultural competency, active listening, and authentic engagement with colleagues of diverse identities, skills, and perspectives.
• Have experience successfully bringing diverse cultures and teams together, including, but not limited to, merged organizations, with transparency, clarity and inspiration.
• Be a natural team leader, able to retain and nurture top talent with a particular commitment to the ongoing professional development of others.

A Strategic Leader with a Strong Growth & Results Orientation

This leader will:

• Excel at developing, articulating, and executing on a clear strategy, with the ability and willingness to pivot based on the rapidly evolving media and technology landscape to best meet the needs of the audience.
• Be a creative thinker, willing to take calculated risks in pursuit of a model of financial viability, while upholding a fundamental commitment to independent, trusted newsrooms and journalism.
• Have the ability to establish priorities, goals, and timelines to achieve quantifiable and qualitative outcomes.
• Have a strong business acumen, with the skillset to drive rational cost structures as well as revenue creation.
• Be a decisive yet flexible leader, able to make difficult decisions in support of the long-term success of CPM.

An Experienced, Dynamic Ambassador & Fundraiser

This leader will:

• Be a clear and compelling communicator, able to articulate the mission and impact of CPM to a diverse range of external audiences including existing and potential new funding sources, including foundations and major donors.
• Bring a creative approach to further diversify funding streams and earned revenue.
• Be fluent in the strategies and tactics that drive service and success in a multiplatform media environment.
• Proactively seek out opportunities to increase CPM’s impact and reputation locally, regionally, and beyond.
• Genuinely enjoy fundraising and have the demonstrated skillset to pursue and land transformative, seven- and eight-figure gifts.
• Enjoy and excel at the external aspects of the role, serving as the ‘face’ of and primary ambassador for the organization.

A Commitment to the Mission of Public Service Journalism & the Chicagoland Region

This leader will:

• Have a passion for journalism and a deep understanding of the nature and ethics of the work, as well as the essential role quality journalism plays in healthy communities and a healthy democracy.
• Bring a genuine and infectious excitement to the role, with a fundamental and unwavering belief in the potential of CPM to be the Chicago region’s most trusted news source, reaching every corner of the metro area.
• Have a sincere belief in CPM’s role in fostering a healthier, more equitable, and vibrant Chicago region.
• Have the ability to be a respected civic leader in Chicago and a credible, trusted leader in non-profit media circles, locally and nationally.
• Be energized by the opportunity to develop a nonprofit media model for the nation.
• Ideally have ties to the Chicago region, with an understanding of and deep appreciation for the local culture and landscape.
• Ideally have experience within the journalism or broader media landscape. A strong understanding of digital media would be particularly compelling.

For more information, including salary information, please download the position profile.