Open letter to Len Goodman from Chicago journalists
THANK YOU to everyone who showed support by adding their name to this letter. We included the names of 404 cosigners who work or have worked in media below.
More than 450 people had added their names when we closed submissions on April 26, 2022, after Reader co-owner Leonard C. Goodman and his allies on the board stepped down. The Reader is free to transition to a nonprofit, thanks in part to the journalists who wrote, signed, and shared this letter.
Thank you.
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Dear Len Goodman and Chicago Reader board,
We, the undersigned, are a community of journalists, former and current Chicago Reader contributors, and longtime supporters who are deeply worried about the future of this venerable institution.
The stand-off with Goodman began after Goodman, a co-owner of the Reader, wrote a column that was riddled with factual errors. Staff asked to publish a correction after an independent fact-check, and Goodman balked. Then, his representatives on the Reader LC3 board passed resolutions delaying a planned sale of the newspaper to a new nonprofit, the Reader Institute for Community Journalism, which Goodman had previously agreed to.
Last Friday, Reader union members published an op-Ed in the Tribune about the crisis. The union is also planning to hold an in-person rally on Thursday, April 21 outside Goodman’s mansion at 3000 N. Lake Shore Drive.
For many of the journalists who have signed this letter, the Reader was the first publication that took a chance on a long-form narrative investigation, personal essay, music review or photo story that let us stretch our wings, try new ideas and find our voice. For long-time readers and Chicagoans, the Reader has been a stalwart and freely available window into the city’s underground music culture, inner workings of city government, and romance ads.
It is unconscionable that the publication that broke the Jon Burge police torture story, tirelessly covered TIF deals, and has lovingly and carefully chronicled so much of the city’s beauty, difficulty, and strangeness for five decades has an uncertain future because of one powerful, wealthy man.
In the Tribune op-Ed, the union members wrote, “The only person who can fix this problem is the same one who created it: Goodman must approve the sale of the Reader to the Reader Institute for Community Journalism.” We agree.
We demand that Len Goodman and his representatives on the Reader LC3 board allow the sale of the Reader to the Reader Institute for Community Journalism to go through at once.
Signed,
Yana Kunichoff, Reader contributor
Jackie Serrato, Editor in Chief, South Side Weekly
Maya Dukmasova, former Reader staff writer
Taylor Moore, Reader contributor
Rebecca Burns, freelance investigative journalist
Siri Chilukuri, Reader contributor
Michelle Kanaar, Reader contributor
Carlos Ballesteros, Reader contributor
Brianna Wellen, former Reader editor
Darryl Holliday, Reader contributor
Cody Corrall, Buzzfeed News (and Reader freelancer)
Josh Terry, freelancer
Austin Brown, freelance
Pat Sullivan, Risk Information (and past Reader contributor)
Adam Mahoney, former Reader freelancer
Mike Boyd, freelance
Bridgette Redman, freelance
Ted Cox, former Reader columnist
Ben Austen, freelance
Catey Sullivan, freelance
Nora Paul, Reader contributor
Raven Geary, freelance journalist, Reader contributor
Brady Gerber, Chicago-based Vulture and Pitchfork contributor
Aimee Levitt, former Reader staff writer and editor
Darshita Jain, freelance
Michael Izquierdo, freelance Chicago journalist and photographer
Adam M. Rhodes, Investigative Reporters & Editors (former Reader staffer)
Bobby Vanecko, South Side Weekly contributor
Aaron Cohen, freelance
Sam Stroozas, Minnesota Public Radio
Martha Bayne, South Side Weekly, former Chicago Reader senior editor
Amy Qin, Reader contributor
Emily McClanathan, freelance
Morgan Elise Johnson, The TRiiBE
Sam Worley, Atlanta magazine deputy editor and former Reader editor
Ed Blair, freelance and Reader contributor
Jake Austen, freelance
Monica Kendrick, former Reader typesetter and staff writer; freelance
Sandra Treviño, freelance
Erik Adams, IndieWire
Jack Riedy, freelance
J.R. Nelson, freelance
Adam Przybyl, managing editor, South Side Weekly
Irene Romulo, Cícero Independiente
Gwen Inhat, the A.V. Club
Sarah Conway, Reader freelancer
Arionne Nettles, Northwestern University lecturer, Reader contributor
Kaleb Carter, freelance
Robert M. Marovich, Journal of Gospel Music
Jonathan Dale, freelance
Mark Guarino, the Washington Post and ABC News
Nico Lang, freelance
David Jones, former Reader production director, freelance contributor
Rebecca Kincaid, Study Hall
Kate Schmidt, freelance
Mina Bloom, Block Club
Stephania Rodriguez, freelance
Lior Philips, freelance
Bret McCabe, freelance
Donald Liebenson, freelance, Reader contributor
Hannah Edgar, freelance
Dmitry Samarov, freelancer
Maia Spoto, freelance/Chicago Documenters
Whet Moser, New York Times, former Reader editor
Kerry Cardoza, freelance
Tal Rosenberg, former Reader editor
Mike LeSuer, FLOOD Magazine
Taylor Glascock, freelance
John Wilms, past contributor to the Reader
Kevin Warwick, former Reader editor
Tiffany Walden, Editor in Chief of The TRiiBE
Freddy Martinez, freelance
Marc Daalder, senior political reporter, Newsroom.co.nz
Amanda Whitlock, freelance
Jaclyn Jermyn, freelancer
St Sukie de la Croix, freelance
Quinn Myers, Block Club, former Reader contributor
Kelley Tatro, freelance
Brandon Wall, BuzzFeed News
Cameron Kelsall, freelance arts critic/journalist
Casey Toner, Better Government Association reporter
Nader Issa, Chicago Sun-Times
Carrie Shepherd, City Cast Chicago
Patrick Lyons, freelance
Tonia Hill, The TRiiBE
Jesus J. Montero, freelance
Andrew Fan, Invisible Institute
Matthew Sigur, freelance, Reader contributor
Paco Alvarez, Type Investigations
Eric Bennett, freelance
Zack Miller, the Loyola Phoenix
Emily Lipstein, Motherboard (VICE News)
Alejandro Hernandez, freelance
Evan F. Moore, former Reader contributor/columnist
Nancy S. Bishop, Third Coast Review LLC
Heather Lalley, Restaurant Business
Jes Skolnik, Bandcamp Daily
Mark Yarm, Input
Grace Del Vecchio, freelance, Reader contributor
Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture / New York Magazine
Maira Khwaja, Invisible Institute
Rachel Fernandez, freelance
Scott Gordon, Tone Madison
Niko Stratis, freelance
Steven Spoerl, Tone Madison
Anna White, freelance
Michael Rancic, freelance, New Feeling Co-op
Elizabeth Tamny, former Reader staffer and freelancer
Jonathan Eig, freelance
Emma Oxnevad, former Reader contributor
Kathleen Sachs, freelance Reader contributor
Alex Arriaga, The Marshall Project
Jenni Spinner, Outsourcing-Pharma
Aaron Cynic, freelance
Tracey Lindeman, freelance
Marissa Oberlander, freelance
Parker Molloy, freelance
Dan Kelly, freelance
Gregory Pratt, Chicago Tribune
Ryan Rosenberger, freelance Chicago music journalist
Atavia Reed, Block Club
KT Hawbaker, freelance
The People’s Fabric
Rich Miller, Capitol Fax
Michael Workman, Newcity magazine, Bridge
Megan Kirby, Reader freelancer
Ricky O’Donnell, editor and writer
Corli Jay, Crain’s
Jhmira Alexander, Public Narrative
Elisa Shoenberger, freelance
Claire Bushey, Chicago reporter for the Financial Times
Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, North Carolina Health News, Reader freelancer
Max Grinnell, freelance
Noah Berlatsky, freelancer
Amanda Finn, freelance
Jamie Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago
Patrick Masterson, Cars.com
Chicago Free Media
Paul Dailing, former Reader freelancer
Bea Malsky, the New York Times
Sheri Flanders, freelance, Reader and Sun-Times
Jacoby Cochran, City Cast Chicago
J. Howard Rosier, Board Member, National Book Critics Circle
Sean Larson, Rampant Magazine
Aaron Gettinger, Hyde Park Herald
Maya Holt, Invisible Institute
Tatiana Walk-Morris, freelance, previously for the Reader.
Annette LePique, freelance
Michaelangelo Matos, freelance
Heather Corinna, freelance
Hanif Abdurraqib
Josh Flanders, freelance, the Reader and the Forward
Lillian Stone, the Takeout, former Reader contributor
Jared Holt, DFRLab
Jennifer Bamberg, freelance contributor to the Reader
Laura Adamczyk, freelancer
Adam Morgan, freelance
Deborah Douglas, The Emancipator
Sara Amato, Forbes
Dennis Lee, the Takeout
Stephen Walker, former Reader staffer
Michael Nagrant, freelance
Mark Misulonas, Shaw Media
Mike Vanderbilt, freelance
Michael Gebert, Fooditor
Nikita Amir, freelance
Patrick Murfin, Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout blog
Brooke Binkowski, TruthOrFiction.com
Russell Leung, the Daily Northwestern
Robert Loerzel, freelancer
Mick Dumke, former Reader staff writer and editor
Charmaine Runes, WBEZ
Sam Stecklow, Invisible Institute, South Side Weekly
Erin Hegarty, The Daily Line
Brian J. Bowe, freelancer and journalism professor
Jill Hopkins, former Vocalo, freelance
Kate Gallagher, South Side Weekly
Susan Thomas, freelance, MSJ NU school of journalism
Joshua Minsoo Kim, freelancer, Reader contributor
Jim Kopeny, Third Coast Review / Tankboy
Wendy Fox Weber, Chicago Tribune suburban papers
Meribah Knight, Nashville Public Radio
Miranda Perez, Built In
Derrian Carter, journalism student
Alec Karam, Loyola Phoenix
Alison True, Chicago Reader editor 1994–2010
Eli Enis, Revolver Magazine
Kenyatta Victoria, freelance
Isra Rahman, freelance and the Invisible Institute
Gregory Gillam, freelance, former Reader contributor
Dave Roknic, Tribune DPS
Kiki Yablon, former Reader editor
Myron Meisel, LA Film Critics Association, LA Drama Critics Circle
Kate Scott Daly, Third Coast Review, freelance at Chicago Sun-Times
Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune
Sean Margaret Wagner, freelance
Tempestt Hazel, Sixty Inches From Center
Jared Rutecki, Better Government Association
Joel Reese, freelance
Dan Sinker, freelance
Jennifer Swann, freelance
Bryan Boyer, freelance
Bill Savage, freelance
Rex Huppke, columnist, USA Today
John Dugan, freelance
Jennifer McLaughlin, former Reader production manager & senior design coordinator
Anjulie Rao, freelance
Maggie Sivit, WBEZ
Marykate O’Meara, former Reader contributor
Elvia Malagón, Chicago Sun-Times
Steven Krakow, Reader contributor
Maureen Kelleher, Education Post
Christopher Piatt, freelance
John M. Cunningham, freelance
Justin Laurence, freelance
Irv Leavitt, Honest Context, freelance
Megan Sauer, CNBC Make It
Carrie Maxwell, Windy City Times contributor
Caroline (Coco) Picard, Reader contributor, freelance
Brian Gunderson, freelance
Amanda Hess, New York Times
Eiren Caffall, freelance
Jen Torwudzo-Stroh, Sixty Inches From Center
Ryland Pietras, freelance at City Bureau
Megan Stielstra, freelance
Sarah Lazare, In These Times
Stephanie Casanova, Chicago Tribune
Jason Cohen, freelance
Matt Harvey, freelance
Cam Rodriguez, Chalkbeat
Dan Jakes, freelance Reader contributor
John Carruthers, freelance, the Takeout
Jack Probst, freelance
Zachary Long, freelance, former Time Out Chicago editor
Olivia Stovicek, South Side Weekly
Mari Cohen, Assistant Editor, Jewish Currents, former freelance reporter and copy-editor, Chicago Reader
Emeline Posner, freelance
Kris Vire, freelance
Kim Wilson Buck, freelance
Hayley Schueneman, BDG
Peter Margasak, freelance, former Reader staff writer
Dave Awl, freelance, former Windy City Times and Newcity contributor
Andrew Davis, Windy City Times
Stacy Fernandez, the News Revenue Hub
Alyssa Edes, WNYC
John Huston, former Chicago Tribune reporter
Katie Koranda, former WBEZ intern
Don McLeese, freelance
Tony Peregrin, freelance
Colleen Morrisseey, freelance
Matt Brun, freelance
Jennifer Brandel, Hearken
Laurie Fanelli, Rebellious Magazine, freelance
Christine Fernando, USA Today
Brittany Trang, freelance
Irene Hsiao, freelance
Matthew Simonette, Windy City Times
Matt Chapman, freelance
Heather Kenny, freelance
Trenton Roberts, freelance
Lloyd DeGrane, freelance
Jason Schumer, publisher, South Side Weekly and Hyde Park Herald
Jonathan Rosenthal, Invisible Oranges
Lily Wachowski
Deborah Pugh, former Reader staffer
David Murray, freelance
Cecilia Reyes, Chicago Tribune
Kristen Lambert, freelance
Jacob Arnold, freelance
Jeff Terich, freelance & Treble
Sammi Skolmoski, freelance
Justin Agrelo, freelance
Jack Silverstein, ReadJack.com
Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Invisible Institute
Maureen O’Donnell, Chicago Sun-Times
Mark Braboy, freelance
Rachel Hinton, Better Government Association, former Reader intern
Monica Reida, freelance
Nina Li Coomes, freelance
Caroline Patton, City Cast
Marcus Gilmer, freelance
Hannah Faris, WBEZ and Hyde Park Herald
Jason Lo, the Philadelphia Inquirer
Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner
Natalie Frazier, freelance
Sam Allard, Cleveland Scene Magazine
Maria Ines Zamudio
Paul Engleman, freelance
Dan Mihalopoulos, WBEZ
Mariann Stephens, freelance (retired)
Andrew Gill, freelance
persephone van ort, Sixty Inches From Center
Chris Thompson, Defector
David Roth, Defector
Elizabeth Blasius, freelance
Jake Malooley, freelance
Jack Helbig, freelance
Ata Younan, Borderless Magazine, freelance
Laura Wagner, Defector
Eric Zorn, The Picyune Sentinal / The Daily Herald
William Meyer, freelance
Katie Foran-McHale, Tribune News Service
Jessica St. Ama, Tribune DPS
Rima Parikh, New York Magazine
Sarah Collins, freelance
Devin Schiff, the Onion
Kim Kelly, freelance labor journalist and author
Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork
Kris Karnopp, Tribune Publishing
Gabriel Aikins, freelance
Gavin Good, freelance
Joe Guszkowski, Restaurant Business
Matt Schur, multiple trade publications
India Daniels, City Bureau
Kelly Kleiman, Reader freelance contributor
Joshua Irvine, freelance
Nate Marshall, author
Paul Biasco, freelance
Joshua Irvine, freelance
Matthew Ritchie, freelance
Laura Pearson, former Reader contributor
Colin Boyle, Block Club Chicago
Zachary H Lipez, freelance
Leah Geisler, freelance
James Edwards
Gina Fattore, former Reader editor
Sue Kwong, former Reader art department
Jake Berent, former journalist
Neil Tesser, freelance
Blair Paddock, freelance
Megan E. Doherty, freelance
Morgan McFall-Johnsen, Insider
Laura Casey, Wall Street Journal
Tyra Triche, freelance
Boutayna Chokrane, freelance
Robin Amer, former Reader deputy editor for news
Alma Campos, South Side Weekly
John Kroll, Kent State University
Maya Schenwar, Truthout
Justin McGown, Fairfield County Business Journal
Samantha Smylie, Chalkbeat Chicago
Drew Hunt, former Reader staffer
Jeff Schuhrke, In These Times (freelance)
Renaldo Migaldi, former Reader staffer
Julian Ramirez, Third Coast Review
Kip Kania, freelance photographer
Jessica Mlinaric, freelance
Michelle Bruton, freelance, former Reader contributor
Jeremy Gordon, freelance
Devlyn Camp, freelance
Ricardo M. Lopez, Chicago Tribune
Lisa Shames, freelance
F. Amanda Tugade, Wednesday Journal/Growing Community Media
S. Nicole Lane, Giddy, freelance Reader contributor
Mareva Lindo, freelance
Amethyst J. Davis, the Harvey World Herald
Clare Lane, WBEZ
Alex V. Hernandez, Block Club Chicago, former Reader contributor
Lloyd Sachs, freelance
Julia Thiel, former Reader staff writer
Danette Chavez, freelance, former Reader employee
Kate Dries, Dwell
Milo Cain, freelance
Caleb Brennan, freelance
Sofi LaLonde, Vox.com
Noah Simon, Sparky, freelance
Matthew Shanahan, former Reader contributor
John Greenfield, Streetsblog Chicago editor, Reader contributor
Seth Putnam, Built In; freelance for Chicago Magazine and Chicago Sun-Times
Ashley Bardhan, Kotaku
Dan Hyman, freelance
Dillon Edlin, freelance
David Anthony, freelance
Peter Zimmerman, WGN Radio
Kaylen Ralph, freelance journalist, Reader contributor
Annie Zaleski, freelance, sometime Reader contributor
Mike Tish, freelance, Documenters, TheKrazyCouponLady.com
Shy Thompson, freelance
Lynda Lopez
John Cotter, freelance
Naomi Waxman, Eater Chicago
Ray Pride, Newcity
Ellery Jones, Gannett
Josh Modell, Talkhouse
Benji Hart, freelance
Lindsay Eanet, freelance
Rae Nudson, freelance
Rosamund Lannin, freelance
Annie Howard, freelance
Jonathan Ballew, freelance
Annie Johnson, Digg
Meggie Gates, freelance
Elena Bruess, San Antonio Express-News
Jacqui Shine, freelance
Brandon Sward, freelance
Matt Schimkowitz, the A.V. Club
Aaron Hunt, freelance
Mána Taylor, freelance
Tom Schuba, Chicago Sun-Times
Andrew Hayward, Decrypt
Francisco Ramirez Pinedo, South Side Weekly
Griffin Krueger, Loyola Phoenix
Miles Kampf-Lassin, In These Times, Reader contributor
Ines Bellina, freelance
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