🕵️ Dude, where’s my Reader?

We’re in a bind, and we really need your help. [View this email in your browser]( Friend, Last week, dozens of newsracks containing thousands of issues of the Reader disappeared from the Loop. You know these newsracks. They’ve been fixtures of downtown Chicago since the 90s. 👇 [A metal newsrack dispensing free publications on a street corner in Chicago's Loop]( At least 46 of these crucial distribution points for the Reader are missing from the Loop. So what happened? Here’s what we know so far: - The City of Chicago ordered the media company JCDecaux USA to remove 83 of the Reader’s newsracks from the Loop. This “plan” was never approved by the City Council. - At least 46 of the newsracks were taken down last week, eliminating two-thirds of our circulation in the busiest area of Chicago. - This wasn’t just a cynical “cleanup” job done for the Democratic National Convention. Thirty-seven more newsracks are slated for removal, and none of them are coming back. - We are told that we can install our own boxes where the newsracks were—at a cost of nearly $30,000. These newsracks and thousands of issues of the Reader were hauled away, with zero regard for the Chicagoans who rely on us for news or for the local businesses and organizations that pay to advertise in our pages. We were never warned or given a chance to object. [Now we’re in a bind, and we really need your help. We need to raise funds immediately to make things right and replace the removed newsracks with new Reader boxes. Can you chip in right now?]( [HELL YES, I’LL CHIP IN]( Earlier this summer, we rode along with our truck drivers to learn more about where demand for the Reader is highest and which neighborhoods need more issues and distribution points. We found that, in many locations, Reader issues are all scooped up within just a few days of coming out. If anything, we need more distribution points. More papers. More leaders as concerned about the strength of a local free press and keeping residents informed as they are about the aesthetics of the Loop. [We wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important. Installing new Reader boxes in the Loop will cost nearly $30,000—but we intend to do it with your help. Please donate now to bring the Reader back to the Loop and to every neighborhood that needs it.]( [CHIP IN TO HELP]( Rest assured: We’re not just fundraising. We’re investigating—and we’ll let you know what we learn about this attack on Chicago’s free press. Let’s rake some muck, Team Reader [Facebook icon]( [Instagram icon]( [Twitter icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [YouTube icon]( [Website icon]( [Logo] You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from the Chicago Reader. Want fewer emails from us? [Click here to choose what you want us to send you](. Or, [unsubscribe from all Reader emails](. We’ll miss you! [Sign up for emails from the Chicago Reader]( | [Forward this e-mail to a friend]( © 2024 Chicago Reader. All rights reserved. Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616