Storied African-American newspaper becoming digital only

July 5, 2019

CHICAGO (AP) — The publisher of the storied African American newspaper Chicago Defender has announced it will no longer publish a print version.

In announcing the move to digital-only beginning July 11, Real Times Media CEO Hiram E. Jackson said Friday the newspaper has made significant investment in digital media because of changes in the publishing landscape.

Jackson noted the Defender currently prints 16,000 newspapers. He says the newspaper reaches at least ten times more people on its digital platform. Jackson says Real Times’ other newspapers, the Michigan Chronicle and the New Pittsburgh Courier, will continue to offer a print version.

The newspaper was founded by Robert S. Abbott in 1905 and reached the peak of its influence at mid-century when it was a frequent critic of racial inequities in the nation’s southern states.