Wednesday Journal, Inc. is a newspaper publisher based in
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...
. It publishes a free weekly community newspaper in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, paid weekly newspapers in the city's western suburbs and parenting magazines in the
Chicago metropolitan area
The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...
.
In 2019, Wednesday Journal became owned by the nonprofit Growing Community Media.
Current publications
Chicago community newspapers
All of Wednesday Journal, Inc.'s Chicago-based community newspapers are published on Wednesdays.
''Austin Weekly News''
''Austin Weekly News'' was founded 1986 by Liliana Drechney, a former reporter for the now-defunct Leader Papers, Inc. community newspaper chain. For most of its history, the paper served the Austin community area. In 2010, it expanded its circulation to cover
North Lawndale and
West Garfield Park
West Garfield Park on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. It is directly west of Garfield Park.
Neighborhood boundaries
The boundaries of West Garfield Park are NORTH: W. Kinzie St ...
community areas.
''Skyline''
Launched by
Lerner Newspapers
Lerner Newspapers was a chain of weekly newspapers. Founded by Leo Lerner, the chain was an important contributor to community journalism in Chicago from 1926 to 2005 and called itself "the world's largest newspaper group".
In its heyday, Lerner ...
in the 1960s, the ''Skyline'' covered the
Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, the
Loop and the
Near North Side, with an emphasis on society gossip. The ''Skyline'' was the only Lerner paper not to cover school sports. In 2005, Pioneer Press sold the nameplate to the ''Wednesday Journal.'' Today, it covers the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park,
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...
, former Cabrini-Green and
River North. True to its historic emphasis on society gossip, it is the only Wednesday Journal newspaper to retain a gossip column, written by Ann Gerber. Circulation: 9,400
By 2009 through 2024, Skyline is published by Inside Publications, but no longer by Wednesday Journal/Growing Media.
= Regular features
=
* Heart of the Hood
* Ann Gerber's Society Column
* Hot Shots
* Metropolis
Suburban newspapers
Unlike the city newspapers, suburban newspapers are paid. They can be found in newsboxes throughout their respective coverage areas. They are also available by subscription. Compared to their city-based counterparts, the suburban newspapers are larger and contain more articles per issue.
''Forest Park Review''
The oldest Wednesday Journal suburban newspaper, it has been published since 1902.
* Riverside Brookfield Landmark
''Wednesday Journal''
Founded in 1980, ''Wednesday Journal'' is the flagship newspaper of the Wednesday Journal Publications. It serves the cities of Oak Park and River Forest.
''Chicago Parent Magazine''
Founded in 1984, this free monthly magazine is distributed throughout Chicago and its suburbs.
Former publications
''Booster''
The ''Booster'' is the oldest newspaper to ever be owned by Wednesday Journal. It was originally known as the ''Lincoln-Belmont Booster.'' Leo Lerner launched his Lerner Newspapers empire when he acquired it in 1926. In 2000, it, along with the other surviving Lerner newspapers, were sold to Pioneer Press. In 2005, Pioneer Press sold ''The Booster'' to the ''Wednesday Journal.''
''The Booster'' covered various North Side neighborhoods, including
Avondale,
Irving Park,
Lake View, Lincoln-Belmont,
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...
, Logan-Armitage,
North Center,
Roscoe Village and Sheridan Center.
[Internet archive]
Chicago Public Library holdings The ''Wednesday Journal''-published editions covered Lake View, North Center and Roscoe Village.
["Chicago Journal keeping 2 weekly newspapers, selling 2, closing 1"]
, ''Chicago Journal,'' March 5, 2009
In 2008, Wednesday Journal resold the ''Booster'' nameplate to Inside Publications. The Inside Publications merged it with its main publication, ''Inside'', to form the ''Inside-Booster''.
Mike Royko
Michael Royko Jr. (September 19, 1932 – April 29, 1997) was an American newspaper columnist from Chicago, Illinois. Over his 42-year career, he wrote more than 7,500 daily columns for the '' Chicago Daily News'', the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', an ...
had his start at the ''Lincoln-Belmont Booster''.
[St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture](_blank)
/ref>
''Chicago Journal''
Established in 2000 to cover South Loop, West Loop and Near West Side neighborhoods, it represented Wednesday Journal's first foray into Chicago neighborhood publishing. The Chicago Journal had a distinctive look for a community paper
Community paper is a term used by publishers, advertisers and readers to describe a range of publications that share a common service to their local community and commerce. Their predominant medium being newsprint, often free and published at regu ...
—it was a broadsheet, and printed on peach newsprint.
During its widest circulation period, ''Chicago Journal'' covered the South Loop, Printers Row, Motor Row, Chinatown, New East Side, West Loop Gate, West Loop, Near West Side, Greektown, Little Italy, University Village and Pilsen neighborhoods. It was the most widely circulated Wednesday Journal city newspaper with circulation of 13,000.
In December 2012, the ''Chicago Journal'' announced in their print editions and website that the newspaper would cease publication that month. The final issue was distributed on December 12, 2012.
''News-Star''
Beginning as separate ''News'' and ''Star'' editions, later combined, the ''News-Star'' (also called the ''News and Star Budget''[Illinois Newspaper Project]
/ref>) covered the Far North Side. In 2005, Pioneer Press sold the nameplate to the ''Wednesday Journal,'' which resold it to Inside Publications in 2008 .
Communities covered by the various versions included Albany Park, Edgewater, Lake View, Lincoln Square, North Park, North Town, Ravenswood, Rogers Park, Sauganash and Uptown.New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, was for many years editor of the ''Uptown and Edgewater News''.
''Westside Journal''
''Westside Journal'', also known as ''West Side Chicago Journal'', was the edition of ''Chicago Journal'' that served Wicker Park, Bucktown, Ukrainian Village, East Village and West Town neighborhoods. It was cancelled in 2008 when the Wednesday Journal management determined that it didn't generate enough ad revenue to justify its existence.
References
External links
''Wednesday Journal'' classifieds
Wednesday Journal Homes
{{Oak Park, Illinois , state=expanded
Newspapers published in Chicago
Free newspapers
Newspaper companies of the United States