South Side Weekly

South Side Weekly is a Chicago nonprofit news outlet, founded around 2013, that publishes bilingual local journalism on immigration, housing, police, education, and culture for South Side Chicago residents, funded primarily by reader donations.

Company typePrivate
Founded2013
HeadquartersChicago Park, United States
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2C
OfferingDigital Commerce or Content

What South Side Weekly does

South Side Weekly is a Chicago-based nonprofit local news organization founded around 2013 that publishes journalism focused on Chicago's South Side communities, including Hyde Park, Bronzeville, Pilsen, Woodlawn, and Kenwood. Its core editorial product covers immigration, housing, police accountability, education, politics, community organizing, art, music, sports, and literature, and it has built a bilingual (English/Spanish) reporting capability with a dedicated Spanish-language section. The publication supplements its core news coverage with several branded editorial products: an annual 'Best of the South Side' awards program (running continuously from 2013 through 2025), a recurring 'The Exchange' series on marketplace and community content, a 'Public Meetings Report' documenting local government proceedings, and a Community Investigations Hub for longer-form investigative work, including collaborations with external outlets such as the Illinois Answers Project.

Operationally, South Side Weekly is a lean newsroom of 1–10 employees headquartered at the Experimental Station community space, 6100 S. Blackstone Ave., Chicago. Distribution runs primarily through its WordPress-based website (southsideweekly.com), a free weekly email digest via eepurl.com/icYvPT, and social channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram), with an active contributor pipeline. There is no native mobile app, no disclosed API or SDK, and no AI-powered product features. Revenue is generated via voluntary reader donations (Donorbox), merchandise (BigCartel storefront), newsletter subscriptions (SimpleCirc), and likely limited advertising; no revenue figures, funding rounds, grants, or institutional backing are disclosed. Leadership includes Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline Serrato and Senior Editor Jocelyn Martinez-Rosales.

South Side Weekly firmographics

Firmographics

Name: South Side Weekly
Legal name: South Side Weekly
Website: https://southsideweekly.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2013
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: South Side Weekly is a Chicago nonprofit news outlet, founded around 2013, that publishes bilingual local journalism on immigration, housing, police, education, and culture for South Side Chicago residents, funded primarily by reader donations.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

South Side Weekly industry classification

Industry

Product category: Local News Media
NAICS: Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120)
SIC: Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
akta.pro primary industry: Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)
akta.pro secondary industries: Community, Ethnic & Multilingual News Publishers (MPAJADAG), Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)

Keywords

Local journalism
Community news
Investigative reporting
Bilingual news
Nonprofit media

Where South Side Weekly is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

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

Offices1 record

Markets served

South Side Weekly business model

Business model

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

South Side Weekly product offering

Product offering

Core offering

South Side Weekly publishes original local news, cultural reporting, and investigative journalism focused on Chicago's South Side communities, covering immigration, housing, police, education, politics, community organizing, art, music, sports, and literature. The publication distributes its content through a WordPress-based website, a free weekly email newsletter, social media channels, and a print subscription service, operating as an independent nonprofit news outlet.

Product overview

South Side Weekly is a single-platform local news publication covering Chicago's South Side communities. The core offering is journalism—news articles across sections including immigration, housing, police, education, politics, community organizing, art, music, sports, and literature. The publication supplements its editorial coverage with a free email newsletter digest, annual 'Best of the South Side' awards program, and dedicated investigative and series content including 'The Exchange' and 'Public Meetings Report.' The publication operates primarily through its WordPress-based website and does not offer a SaaS product, API, or AI-powered services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

South Side Weekly News Coverage Original local news journalism covering Chicago's South Side communities across beats including immigration, housing, police, education, politics, community organizing, art, music, sports, and literature.
Weekly Email Newsletter Digest Free weekly email digest delivering curated stories from the publication to subscribers' inboxes.
Print Subscription Print edition subscription service managed through SimpleCirc, allowing readers to receive physical copies of the publication.
South Side Weekly Merchandise Branded merchandise and promotional items sold through the publication's BigCartel storefront.
Best of the South Side Annual Awards Annual recognition program highlighting the best local businesses, organizations, and community contributions across Chicago's South Side, with archives spanning 2013 to 2025.

Companies that use South Side Weekly

Customer profile

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

South Side Weekly technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

South Side Weekly partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

South Side Weekly competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

Chicago Tribune: Major Chicago metropolitan daily covering citywide news including South Side neighborhoods; broad incumbent offering overlapping coverage from a much larger commercial newsroom.
Chicago Sun-Times: Chicago-wide daily with ongoing local-news and investigative coverage, including South Side stories; represents the broader incumbent competition for advertising and reader attention.
WTTW / PBS Chicago: Chicago public-media newsroom producing in-depth local reporting, documentaries, and investigations on civic issues — a broad-incumbent comparator on mission-driven Chicago journalism at a larger institutional scale.

Emerging players

City Bureau: Chicago-based civic journalism nonprofit that trains reporters and produces local investigative and public-meeting coverage, overlapping directly with South Side Weekly's 'Public Meetings Report' and investigations work.
Streetsblog Chicago: Local online outlet covering transportation, urban planning, and housing policy in Chicago — adjacent topical overlap with South Side Weekly's housing and community-organizing coverage.
The Triibe: Digital-first local-news outlet focused on Black Chicago communities on the South and West Sides, competing for the same digitally engaged, mission-driven readership as South Side Weekly.

Direct peers

Block Club Chicago: Nonprofit, neighborhood-focused local-news outlet serving Chicago with a donor-supported model and dedicated neighborhood reporters — the closest direct structural peer to South Side Weekly, with broader geographic coverage and a larger donor base.
Austin Weekly News: Community weekly serving Chicago's Austin neighborhood and broader West Side, comparable in format, cadence, and nonprofit/community-newsroom positioning.
The Hyde Park Herald: Long-running neighborhood newspaper covering Hyde Park and nearby South Side communities, overlapping directly with South Side Weekly's core geographic and topical coverage area.
Chicago Reporter: Nonprofit investigative newsroom focused on race, poverty, and social justice in Chicago, with deep reporting overlap on housing, policing, and immigration — directly comparable in mission and audience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

South Side Weekly financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

South Side Weekly leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

South Side Weekly funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

South Side Weekly 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 South Side Weekly

What does South Side Weekly do?

Is South Side Weekly a public or private company?

South Side Weekly is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was South Side Weekly founded?

South Side Weekly was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is South Side Weekly based?

South Side Weekly is headquartered in Chicago Park, United States, in the North America region.

Who are South Side Weekly's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and WTTW / PBS Chicago. Emerging players are City Bureau, Streetsblog Chicago and The Triibe. Direct peers are Block Club Chicago, Austin Weekly News, The Hyde Park Herald and Chicago Reporter.

Does South Side Weekly have an API?

No public API is recorded for South Side Weekly.

What industry is South Side Weekly in?

South Side Weekly's product category is Local News Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAB, Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital), with a secondary code of MPAJADAG, Community, Ethnic & Multilingual News Publishers. Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2711.