Chicago Reader

Article summary

The Chicago Reader, or Reader (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The Reader has been recognized as a pioneer among alternative weeklies for both its creative nonfiction and its commercial scheme. Richard Karpel, then–executive director of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, wrote: [T]he most significant historical event in the creation of the modern alt-weekly occurred in Chicago in 1971, when the Chicago Reader pioneered the practice of free circulation, a cornerstone of today's alternative papers. The Reader also developed a new kind of journalism, ignoring the news and focusing on everyday life and ordinary people. The Reader was founded by a group of friends from Carleton College, and four of them remained its primary owners for 36 years. While annual revenue reached an all-time high of $22.6 million in 2002, double what it had been a decade earlier, profits and readership then went into steep decline, and ownership changed several times between 2007 and 2018. In 2022, the owners transferred the Reader to a new non-profit organization, the Reader Institute for Community Journalism.…

Key claims

1. date of formation: 1984 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of foundation: 1978 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of foundation: 1981 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. publication date: 1988 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. publication date: 1996 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. publication date: 2004 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of formation is "1984". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of foundation is "1978". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of foundation is "1981". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the publication date is "1988". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the publication date is "1996". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the publication date is "2004". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
9. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378005250