The troubled Chicago
Sun-Times will have a new editor in chief on September 2: Kimbriell Kelly, the newspaper’s owner, Chicago Public Media, has announced.
The current editor in
chief -- Jennifer Kho -- is stepping down. Kho will partner with the company on a project about the future of public media after taking some time off.
Kelly will
lead the newly combined news operations of the Sun-Times and WBEZ.
The Sun-Times is struggling to implement a business model that
brings in reader contributions as well traditional revenue sources from circulation and advertising, and it is asking for reader donations, according to a report in
the Sun-Times. Its staff has been reduced via buyouts. However, the paper has not been directly affected by the cutoff of federal funding for public
broadcasting.
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Kelly has served as an assistant managing editor and bureau chief at the Los Angeles Times and a reporter at The Washington Post.
In the latter role, she was part of a Pulitzer-prize-winning team. Earlier, Kelly worked at the Chicago Reporter.
“Kimbriell has the deep Chicago
roots, journalistic excellence and forward-looking vision to help shape the future of our integrated newsroom,” says Melissa Bell, CEO of Chicago Public Media, the Sun-Times reports.
“She understands both the tradition of great reporting and the need to innovate for our audiences.”
Kho joined the Sun-Times in 2022 after it was
sold to Chicago Public Media.