Newcity is publishing biweekly this summer, starting in June. We expect tor resume our weekly schedule in September. Meanwhile, we plan to use this summer to work on a major rethinking, a “reboot,” of our publications.
Why now? Newcity’s marking its twenty-fifth anniversary this year. Big birthdays always instigate some measure of contemplation, of one’s past, of one’s future, but the world is in a time of such profound change that looking back is far less compelling than trying to scrape that thick ice off our windshield and peer into tomorrow.
When Jan and I look around, we see a media world that looks nothing like 1986, when we started. We’re overdue for some major changes. One obvious need is a redesign of the print edition, which has not undergone such since our infamous Segura Inc.-led retooling back in, gulp, 1998. And too, our more-recent-vintage network of web sites needs some refreshing. But these are times that beg for more than simple window dressing: the media business has been and is profoundly evolving, and we need some time to really explore our role in that future. Unlike our deep-pocketed competitors, we’re a small team of lifelong Chicagoans; the crush of weekly deadlines leaves little time for the research, analysis and brainstorming we need.
Part of this process will be to talk to everyone who cares about Newcity, about Chicago media and about Chicago’s cultural life: our audience, our contributors, our advertisers. We’ll post more on the subject as the summer progresses, but if you have thoughts you’d like to share—What does Newcity represent to you? What do you think we should keep the way it is? What would you like to see us change?—please email us at [email protected] or [email protected].
Brian & Jan Hieggelke
Summer Schedule
June 2 Lit 50
June 16
June 30
July 14
July 28
August 11
August 25
September 1 Fall Forward Arts Preview