Sun Times Media Group

Local Newspaper Publishingsuntimes.com

Sun Times Media Group operates the Chicago Sun-Times, a daily newspaper serving Chicago-area readers through print home delivery, e-paper, website, and mobile apps, monetized via advertising, subscriptions, classifieds, and reader donations.

Company typePrivate
Founded1940
HeadquartersChicago, United States
Headcount1,001–5,000
GTM typeB2C
OfferingDigital Commerce or Content

What Sun Times Media Group does

Sun Times Media Group, legally Chicago Sun-Times Media, Inc., operates the Chicago Sun-Times, a daily metropolitan newspaper founded in 1940. The publication has been owned since 2017 by Chicago Public Media, a nonprofit public media organization that also operates WBEZ Chicago public radio; under this structure the company operates as a public charity rather than a traditional for-profit, with community donations and memberships supplementing commercial revenue. The company delivers content across multiple platforms: a Brightspot CMS-powered website at chicago.suntimes.com, dedicated iOS and Android mobile applications, a digital e-paper replica, email newsletters, and physical home delivery of the print edition, with category coverage spanning news, politics, sports (Bears, Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks, Sky), arts and culture, opinion, and a bilingual En Español section.

The core product portfolio includes the main news platform, e-paper, mobile apps, games (crossword, sudoku, word search), syndicated content such as Dear Abby and horoscopes, newspaper and photo archive services via Newsbank and the Chicago History Museum, a classifieds and marketplace vertical (job postings, legal notices, death notices, small business ads), and a branded merchandise store (Sun-Times Shop). The technology stack centers on the Brightspot content management system and a proprietary "Listen Live" audio streaming capability for podcasts and live content; generative AI tools (ChatGPT, Google Gemini, DALL-E) are used in narrowly permitted editorial support roles such as document summarization, headline drafting, synonym generation, and Spanish first-pass translation, with editorial content remaining human-written and significant AI use disclosed to audiences.

The business model combines six revenue streams: digital and print advertising (display, sponsored, programmatic), recurring subscriptions (e-paper monthly and home delivery annual), classified and marketplace transaction fees, freemium reader donations and memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships, and merchandise/archive product sales. The audience is primarily general consumer readers seeking Chicago local coverage, with secondary segments of digital content consumers, classified marketplace users (businesses and individuals), and local Chicago-area advertisers. The go-to-market is hybrid: a free ad-supported digital product with voluntary donation conversion, alongside traditional subscription sales for e-paper and home delivery, supported by cross-promotion with sister station WBEZ.

Sun Times Media Group firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Sun Times Media Group
Legal name: Chicago Sun-Times Media, Inc.
Website: https://suntimes.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1940
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1,001–5,000 employees
Short description: Sun Times Media Group operates the Chicago Sun-Times, a daily newspaper serving Chicago-area readers through print home delivery, e-paper, website, and mobile apps, monetized via advertising, subscriptions, classifieds, and reader donations.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Sun Times Media Group industry classification

Industry

Product category: Local Newspaper Publishing
NAICS: Newspaper Publishers (51311), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)
SIC: Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Services-Advertising (7310)
akta.pro primary industry: Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)
akta.pro secondary industry: Consumer News & Digital Newsrooms (Web/App-First) (MPAJADAD)

Keywords

Local newspaper publishing
Digital news media
Classified advertising
Newspaper subscriptions
Investigative journalism

Where Sun Times Media Group is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Chicago
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Sun Times Media Group business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Digital Commerce or Content
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Advertising: Digital and print advertising including display ads, sponsored content, and programmatic advertising across the website and mobile app
Subscriptions: E-paper digital subscriptions and home delivery print subscriptions for daily newspaper
Classifieds and Marketplace: Job postings, death notices, legal notices, small business ads, and general classified advertisements
Membership and Donations: Voluntary reader donations and membership programs supporting public interest journalism
Events: Event ticket sales and sponsorship opportunities
Product Sales: Sale of newspaper archives, photo archives, merchandise through Sun-Times Shop

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Monthly	E-Paper Digital Subscription
Subscription	Annual	Home Delivery Print Subscription
Freemium	Monthly	Voluntary Membership/Donation

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Sun Times Media Group product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Sun Times Media Group operates the Chicago Sun-Times, a Chicago metropolitan daily newspaper delivered through print home delivery, digital e-paper, website, and mobile applications. The organization produces and distributes local journalism across news, politics, sports, and arts & culture verticals, and monetizes via advertising, subscriptions, classifieds, and reader donations.

Product overview

The Chicago Sun-Times operates as a multi-platform news media organization offering digital news delivery through its main website and mobile applications, digital replica e-paper subscriptions, physical home delivery, games/entertainment content (crosswords, sudoku, horoscopes), syndicated advice columns (Dear Abby), historical archives, and classifieds/marketplace services. The product portfolio includes core editorial content across news, sports, politics, arts and culture categories, supplemented by interactive features and e-commerce offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

Dear Abby: Advice column syndicated nationally, written by Abigail Van Buren (Jeanne Phillips).
The Watchdogs
Chicago Sun-Times E-Paper

Products and services

Chicago Sun-Times Newspaper The flagship daily metropolitan newspaper covering Chicago-area news, politics, sports, crime, education, health, transportation, environment, arts, and culture, delivered via home delivery and digital channels to individual readers.
E-Paper Digital Subscription Digital replica of the print newspaper accessible online, available to subscribers with various monthly and annual subscription terms.
Chicago Sun-Times Mobile App Mobile application for iOS and Android providing access to Chicago Sun-Times news content, push notifications, and reading features on mobile devices.
Classifieds and Marketplace Online classified advertising marketplace including death notices, job openings, small business ads, legal notices, and general marketplace listings for individuals and businesses in the Chicago area.
Sun-Times Shop Online store selling Chicago Sun-Times branded merchandise and related products to readers and supporters.
Newsletter Subscriptions Email newsletter subscription service providing curated news content across multiple topics to registered email subscribers.
Newspaper Archives Historical newspaper archive service provided through Newsbank, allowing researchers and readers to access past Sun-Times articles and editorial content.
Photo Archives Historical photo archive service allowing purchase of Sun-Times photographs documenting Chicago history, provided in partnership with the Chicago History Museum.

Companies that use Sun Times Media Group

Customer profile

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Sun Times Media Group technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature1 record

Sun Times Media Group partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

Chicago Public MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago Sun-Times is operated by Chicago Public Media, a nonprofit public media organization. Chicago Public Media also operates WBEZ, the Chicago Public Media collective, and Chicago Public Radio. The organization is committed to producing journalism that is accurate, ethical, and deeply human.
WBEZcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago's NPR affiliate and public radio station operated by Chicago Public Media. Content synergies include shared reporting, cross-promotion, and collaborative journalism projects. WBEZ reporters contribute content to Chicago Sun-Times.

Scale indicators2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Sun Times Media Group competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Chicago Tribune: The other major Chicago metropolitan daily newspaper, directly competing for the same local readers, advertisers, and subscribers with a comparable print-plus-digital offering.
Boston Globe: Major U.S. metropolitan daily newspaper serving a single regional metro market with a similar subscription, advertising, and digital content model.

Broad incumbents

New York Times: Large-scale national and metro newspaper with a heavily digital subscription model; competes for advertising and demonstrates the upper bound of digital subscription economics for metro dailies.
Washington Post: National-scale metro and political daily newspaper with a digital subscription business and advertising offerings that overlap with the Sun-Times' digital advertising products.
Los Angeles Times: Major U.S. metropolitan daily newspaper with a similar print-and-digital subscription model serving a single dominant regional market.
Gannett: Largest U.S. newspaper chain (USA Today and hundreds of local titles) operating print, digital subscription, and advertising businesses directly comparable to the Sun-Times' core offering.

Emerging players

Block Club Chicago: Digital-first nonprofit local news outlet covering Chicago, directly competing for local news audience attention and digital advertising dollars in the same market.
Axios: Digital-native news publisher with local-market expansion (Axios Local) overlapping with the Sun-Times' digital subscription and newsletter offerings.

Others

Politico: National political and public-affairs news outlet that competes for political advertising and political-news reader attention overlapping with the Sun-Times' politics vertical.
WBEZ (Chicago Public Media): Sister organization under the Chicago Public Media nonprofit umbrella; while a public radio station rather than a newspaper, it shares donor/membership and cross-promotion infrastructure and competes for some Chicago local-news attention.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Sun Times Media Group financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Sun Times Media Group leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Sun Times Media Group funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Sun Times Media Group M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sun Times Media Group

What does Sun Times Media Group do?

Is Sun Times Media Group a public or private company?

Sun Times Media Group is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Sun Times Media Group founded?

Sun Times Media Group was founded in 1940. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.

Where is Sun Times Media Group based?

Sun Times Media Group is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.

How does Sun Times Media Group make money?

Six revenue lines are on record. Advertising is the primary driver. The others are subscriptions, classifieds and Marketplace, membership and Donations, events and product Sales.

Who are Sun Times Media Group's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Chicago Tribune and Boston Globe. Broad incumbents are New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Gannett. Emerging players are Block Club Chicago and Axios. Others are Politico and WBEZ (Chicago Public Media).

Does Sun Times Media Group have an API?

No public API is recorded for Sun Times Media Group.

What industry is Sun Times Media Group in?

Sun Times Media Group's product category is Local Newspaper Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAB, Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital), with a secondary code of MPAJADAD, Consumer News & Digital Newsrooms (Web/App-First). Its NAICS code is 51311 and its SIC code is 2711.