Resolution Urging the Chicago Tribune Company to Sell the Chicago Tribune to Locally-Based Ownership that will Maintain the Newspaper's Commitment to Fair, Impartial and Non-Ideological
Reporting
WHEREAS, The Chicago Tribune has been a major force in Chicago journalism since its founding 1847 and currently is the eighth largest newspaper in the United States by circulation; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago Tribune has a long history of local ownership and management, which has produced decades of high-quality news coverage, resulting in 25 Pulitzer Prizes and leading to a deep understanding of Chicago's political, business and cultural milieu; and
WHEREAS, News reports indicate that the Chicago Tribune Company is considering the sale of its seven newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and the Baltimore Sun; and
WHEREAS, Newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune play a vital role informing the public through unbiased accounts of the news of the day and aggressive investigative journalism; and
WHEREAS, Local ownership helps to ensure that the newspaper will continue to exhibit a keen understanding of the political, business and cultural aspects of the City of Chicago and remain accountable to its residents, whereas outside ownership threatens the vitality and integrity of the local informational ecosystem; and
WHEREAS, Having one purchaser for all seven of the Tribune Company's newspapers could create an informational monopoly where profits outweigh journalistic integrity and open the door to ideological bias; and
WHEREAS, The new owners ofthe Chicago Tribune must adhere to the paper's historic commitment to investigative reporting, continue its focus on community news, and commit to informing the public in a fair, accurate, and non-partisan manner; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLOVED, That we, the Mayor and the members ofthe City Council ofthe City of Chicago, do hereby urge the current owners of the Chicago Tribune to sell the paper to locally-based ownership; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members ofthe City Council of the City of Chicago, encourage the new ownership to commit to fair, accurate, impartial and non-ideological reporting as a stipulation to any sale; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members ofthe City Council of the City of Chicago, urge the Chicago Tribune Company to review with great care any and all bids to purchase the newspaper with an eye toward preserving the integrity of the paper and the needs of all Chicagoans.