• by Ray Schultz , Yesterday

The struggling Chicago Reader, an alternative newspaper largely devoted to culture, has been acquired by Noisy Creek, owner of The Stranger (Seattle) and the Portland (Washington) Mercury, the Chicago Tribune reports.  

The terms have not been disclosed.

The Reader is seeking a new editor in chief.

“We hope what we’re doing is going to be able to give the Reader the runway that it needs … because it’s truly one of the most beloved and iconic alternative weeklies in America,” says Brady Walkinshaw, founder of Noisy Creek and CEO of the climate news website Grist.org.,according to the Tribune, “We have every intention to keep it hyper-local, with local leadership, local partners. What we’re bringing is capital, and a model that can support it.”

The 54 year-old Reader was struggling despite becoming a non-profit three years ago. In January, it announced that it was restructuring and laying off staff. The paper was “as close as we’ve ever been to closure,” wrote Publisher Amber Nettles in a Publisher’s Note. Following that, it was able to raise more than $125,000 in donations.

Walkinshaw, a Democrat, is a former state legislator in Washington, the Tribune notes.