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Your support of the Reader Institute for Community Journalism, the nonprofit publisher of the Chicago Reader, helps keep Chicago’s independent free newspaper vibrant and accessible for everyone.

For EFT and wire instructions or with questions: Contact Diane Pascal, Chief Development Officer, at dpascal@chicagoreader.com or 773.875.9119

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Why the Reader?

No one covers the arts like we do: we have the only full-time music critic in Chicago. The only full-time music editor in the Midwest. Easily the most robust coverage of dance in town. Extraordinary breadth of reviews for our storefront theaters. Fine art, food and food culture, architecture, literature, film all have a home here. Not just reviews either, but coverage of the business and issues affecting these arts. 

We bring you in-depth stories about how the city that works really works. From thoughtful pieces about how systems conspire to work against vulnerable people–people unhoused, addicted, living in poverty, seeking citizenship, embroiled with the criminal justice system–to reporting on populations who are often overlooked, the Reader shares stories that would otherwise go untold.

The Reader creates content that is by, for, and about communities in Chicago that have long been ignored or misrepresented by mainstream media, including women, BIPOC communities, LGBTQIA+ communities, people with disabilities. The Reader prioritizes in-depth stories that encourage public discourse around the history and structural issues facing these groups, changing the status quo. The Reader is committed to a diverse and inclusive newsroom representative of its community.