The Chicago Sun-Times is getting new editorial leadership as it struggles to implement a business model that brings reader contributions alongside traditional revenue sources from circulation and advertising.
Chicago Public Media, which owns the Sun-Times and public radio station WBEZ, said Kimbriell Kelly will become the newsroom’s editor-in-chief starting Sept. 2. She will succeed Jennifer Kho, who joined the paper in 2022 after its sale to Chicago Public Media.
Kelly will oversee the recently combined news operations of the Sun-Times and WBEZ, and she will be the Sun-Times’ first Black editor-in-chief.
Kelly was an assistant managing editor and bureau chief at the Los Angeles Times and a reporter at The Washington Post, where she was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize. Earlier in her career, she worked at the Chicago Reporter, a publication covering race relations and poverty, and was a reporter at the suburban Daily Herald.
“Kimbriell has the deep Chicago roots, journalistic excellence and forward-looking vision to help shape the future of our integrated newsroom,” Melissa Bell, CEO of Chicago Public Media, said Thursday. “She understands both the tradition of great reporting and the need to innovate for our audiences.”
In announcing the change, Bell had high praise for Kho, saying she leaves a “strong foundation.” Bell said after taking some time off, Kho will partner with the company on a project about the future of public media. Kho will leave her post Sept. 12.
In a statement relayed by the company, Kelly said, “I’m honored to return to the city that shaped me and to lead a newsroom with such a vital role in informing and engaging our communities. This is an extraordinary opportunity to build on Chicago Public Media’s strengths and to help reimagine public media for the future.”
Kelly’s prior work included hosting a public affairs program on WFLD-Channel 32 and producing a weekly radio show on WBEZ. She has taught at Howard and Princeton universities.
Kelly and Bell were unavailable for an interview.
Kho said she applied for the editor-in-chief job, which she held on an interim basis when the Sun-Times and WBEZ newsrooms were merged.
She said while she’s disappointed she didn’t get the job, she’s impressed with Kelly’s credentials.
“It’s such an amazing newsroom. I’m not regretting any time I’ve spent to help bring it into its digital future,” Kho said. She said plans for her forthcoming project about digital media are being finalized.
Kho was the first woman and first person of color to lead the Sun-Times newsroom when she joined as executive editor in 2022. She has led the newsroom through two reorganizations, increased its partnerships with other news outlets and helped deepen its community connections with local listening sessions and Chicago’s Next Voices contest, among other initiatives.
Earlier this year, ownership slashed the paper’s staff by about 20% via buyouts. In 2024, it laid off about 15% of staff at WBEZ.
Asked about the forthcoming fiscal cliff the Sun-Times faces, company spokesman Victor Lim said, “Our focus remains on demonstrating tangible progress with our sustainable digital membership model and finding innovative ways to generate our community impact to secure the Sun-Times’ future.”
Lim said Kelly has secured housing in Chicago but will maintain a home in Washington, D.C.
During a call with employees, Bell said the company will not be paying for Kelly’s flights back and forth. The company permits long-distance living arrangements for some senior executives but has asked most staffers to report twice a week to the offices at Navy Pier.
The pandemic is over, but the remote work it inspired still is common in many offices.
“Kimbriell will be here for that same required time,” Bell said on the call. “I’m comfortable with this. I do not think it will take away from her work.”
Bell said that she hopes for “a more robust office presence for all of us” later in the fall.
Some at the Sun-Times have resisted the calls to be at Navy Pier, where parking is expensive, but WBEZ has a no-rent lease through 2095. In turn, the radio station promotes Navy Pier events, Lim said.
The workforce has union representation by either the Chicago News Guild or SAG-AFTRA. Both have voiced anger over staff cuts and executive salaries that union leaders see as excessive.
Bell’s predecessor, Matt Moog, was paid $722,861 for its fiscal year ending June 2024. It has yet to submit a tax filing disclosing Bell’s compensation. The company has said it uses outside consultants to advise on pay levels.
Nader Issa, co-chair of the News Guild’s bargaining unit at the Sun-Times, expressed gratitude for Kho’s accomplishments and “great respect” for Kelly. But he said members remain nervous about the “tumultuous year” at the company.
“We had hoped to find some stability for the remainder of this year. It’s for that reason that we’re concerned by yet another major change in the organization,” Issa said.