Collaboration includes community and diverse media, legacy and newer outlets
CHICAGO — Forty-three independent Chicago-area media outlets, including Public Narrative, have joined forces to raise funds in a month-long #SaveChicagoMedia campaign launched May 12, 2021. The for-profit and nonprofit organizations represent a wide cross-section of community media in the city and nearby suburbs.
The public can give at savechicagomedia.org through June 11, 2021. The website offers the option to donate one amount to be split evenly among all of the outlets, or donors can select one or more outlets to give a specific amount.
“The impact of COVID-19, decreases in advertising and additional problems have hurt local media. Unfortunately, community media outlets are not getting the resources they need and are thus facing the real possibility of closure.”
Yazmin Dominguez, CIMA Project Coordinator
This is the second annual Chicago Independent Media Alliance (CIMA) joint fundraiser. The 2020 campaign, put together in three weeks, raised more than $160,000 for 43 members, including $60,000 in matching funds from local foundations. More than 1,000 individuals donated, with two-thirds opting to support all outlets. One of the positive side effects of the effort was new visibility and amplification of a wide range of media voices.
“There are multiple obstacles facing independent media,” said Yazmin Dominguez, CIMA project coordinator. “The impact of COVID-19, decreases in advertising and additional problems have hurt local media. Unfortunately, community media outlets are not getting the resources they need and are thus facing the real possibility of closure. This includes media serving African American, Latinx, Asian American, immigrant, LGBTQ, and other Chicago communities.”
The campaign was organized and is coordinated by CIMA, a project launched in 2019 by the Chicago Reader. The sixty-eight partners in the alliance include traditional print newspapers, independently produced podcasts, dynamic video production studios, and nonprofit newsrooms focusing on key issues that affect the fabric of the city. Alliance partners cover the African American, Latinx, Asian American, Polish, immigrant, LGBTQ, and other Chicago communities. CIMA coordinates revenue projects to assist in strengthening the local media landscape.
Click here to see all joint fundraising partner media, and to donate.
