Noisy Creek has announced that Sarah Conway will be the new editor in chief of the Chicago Reader starting Jan. 5. Conway spent the last eight years at City Bureau, most recently serving as senior reporter and special projects manager, in addition to managing editor.
Conway’s time at the nonprofit civic media organization included Missing in Chicago, a two-year investigation into how Chicago police handle missing person cases that won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting. She began her journalism career in Chicago, co-founding and serving as editorial director of Borderless Magazine. The award-winning nonprofit newsroom grew out of 90 Days, 90 Voices, a rapid-response immigration news blog that Conway co-founded.
Conway also co-hosts and co-produces the bi-weekly community radio show “Perceptions of the Real” at Lumpen Radio. Her reporting has appeared in a wide range of local and national publications, often focusing on Chicago's marginalized and overlooked populations.
As editor in chief, Conway will bring a renewed focus to the Reader’s legacy of long-form journalism and critical arts coverage, leading the editorial team with a creative approach to storytelling and audience engagement. Her community-driven approach to multimedia projects has included unique collaborations and partnerships with various local news organizations.
“I'm thrilled for Sarah Conway to join the Chicago Reader as our editor in chief,” said Brady Walkinshaw, founder of Noisy Creek, the media company that acquired the Chicago Reader earlier this year. “She brings the sort of experience and vision to usher the Reader into an ambitious chapter that will make the publication an outspoken mainstay of arts, culture, politics and civic life in the Windy City."
“I'm thrilled to join the Chicago Reader and work alongside this incredible team as we carry on its tradition of deep, immersive journalism into a new and exciting era,” said Conway. “Chicago deserves heart-forward storytelling that shows up, listens first and reflects the lived experiences of all those who call it home. Together, we’ll tell the strange, the urgent, the funny and the honest human stories that define this great city and its great people.”
Conway succeeds Salem Collo-Julin, who served in the role until September of this year after joining the editorial staff of the Reader in 2019.
About the Chicago Reader:
The Chicago Reader is a community-supported, fearless, innovative and nationally respected media voice covering Chicago arts and culture for more than 50 years. In print every week and daily online, the Reader is made up of tastemakers, incisive critics and agenda-setters. The community looks to them for what’s new, what’s now, what’s next — and depends on them to hold local government and other public authorities accountable.
About Noisy Creek:
Noisy Creek is a new media company dedicated to revitalizing beloved alternative media brands across the country. Noisy Creek was founded in July 2024 by Brady Walkinshaw, a former CEO of the nonprofit newsroom Grist and a former Washington State legislator. Its network currently includes Seattle’s The Stranger, the Portland Mercury, the Chicago Reader, EverOut.com, Bold Type Tickets, Noisy Podcasts and Noisy Productions.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here