Happy Thanksgiving from your Reader Family!

We are thinking about you 🤎 [View this email in your browser]( [Logo] Happy Thanksgiving from your Reader family! [a woman wearing glasses and a yellow shirt and a black jacket]( Reader Institute for Community Journalism: our name is intentional. RICJ the is name we landed on for the nonprofit entity that publishes the Chicago Reader, and those words (Reader, Community, Journalism) are the assignments on my plate every day in my role as editor in chief. Community For more than 50 years, the Chicago Reader has been a local publication, often specializing in the hyper-local, with an eye to the rest of the world. We cover the news, investigate wrongdoing, but also seek out the soul of our city through charting the progress and innovation from our arts communities. Film, theater, visual arts, music, writers, museums, and more—these are not only playgrounds but scientific labs in which creators and practitioners experiment to find the answers that only artists can. We are endlessly curious about these communities and constantly striving to create more community amongst our readers as we navigate the sometimes choppy waters of city life. Journalism The ethics of journalism require us to seek out the truth and strive to report it accurately. And our Reader ethos requires that we do so with care, mindfulness, and consideration. In October, we entered our 52rd year of publishing. Some might think that should be impossible for a free newsweekly or a local publication to accomplish. But the tenacious commitment of countless people brought us here today. We continue to dedicate ourselves to bringing Chicago its diary, dedicated to documenting the lives of Chicagoans that don’t always get celebrated, and dedicated to making the connections that our readers need. Reader I’ve been a reader of the Reader for virtually my entire life, having grown up in 70s and 80s Chicago. I’m not sure that everyone who wrote for the 1971 version of the Chicago Reader would have known that someone like me existed, much less would grow up to edit this newspaper. But when I started reading the paper in my “tween” years looking for funny and dirty comics, I discovered a world that my family, my friends, and even my teachers hadn’t been able to provide: another world of people, places, crime, corruption, fun, dancing, and music that I didn’t realize existed outside of my neighborhood. Finding the Reader led me to more publications, more news, more experiences that I desperately needed in order to become who I am. Whether you just found us, or we’ve been a longtime companion, we need you to help us continue this essential work. Please become a member, subscribe, and donate to the Chicago Reader so that we can continue to connect you with the worlds of Chicago that you need to know about. Thanks for reading, Salem Collo-Julin Editor in Chief [Become a member]( [Facebook icon] [Instagram icon] [Twitter icon] [Logo] Copyright (C) 2023 Chicago Reader. All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the receive emails from Chicago Reader Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader 2930 S. Michigan Ave. Suite 102 Chicago, IL 60616 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe](