Tracy Baim, Journalist and Dedicated Community News Advocate, to Lead Press Forward Chicago

Baim will advance a collaborative fund to revitalize local news. 

CHICAGO (October 23, 2024) – Tracy Baim will serve as the Executive Director of Press Forward Chicago, a collaborative fund dedicated to strengthening local news organizations as they work towards long-term sustainability. Baim brings decades of experience in the industry, having worked as a journalist, publisher, and coalition builder. Housed at The Chicago Community Trust, Press Forward Chicago is a local chapter of the national Press Forward initiative, which the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation led to raise unprecedented resources to revitalize local news. 

In her new role, Baim will leverage her experience championing community media and advocating for essential resources. She has established strong coalitions with fellow journalists, positioning herself as a key advocate for the growth and sustainability of small, independent news outlets to ensure that residents have access to relevant, credible information. 

“Tracy Baim’s leadership has been instrumental in guiding collaborative efforts in support of community journalism since before Press Forward Chicago launched,” said Andrea Sáenz, president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust. “We’re eager to have her vision lead our work to ensure residents can access diverse, reliable news sources.” 

When Baim assumes the role in January 2025, she will collaborate with philanthropic partners, local news organizations, and community stakeholders. Under her leadership, Press Forward Chicago will provide essential grant funding and create opportunities for journalists and newsroom leaders to learn from one another, share best practices, and develop strategies to become more sustainable. 

“With more than 40 years of experience in community journalism, leading Press Forward Chicago is the role of a lifetime to build upon past efforts to amplify and support community journalism,” said Tracy Baim, executive director of Press Forward Chicago. “Never before has there been widespread recognition of the need to fund local newsrooms, and this is an unprecedented opportunity to bring my years of advocacy to reality to ensure the diverse voices of our communities are heard.” 

Press Forward Chicago, which awarded its first $1.6 million in grants to 13 local newsrooms in May 2024, will continue expanding its support for nonprofit and for-profit newsrooms serving Chicago’s diverse communities through direct funding, technical assistance, and collaborative learning opportunities. 

Baim co-founded Windy City Times in 1985 to be a voice for Chicago’s LGBTQ community. Most recently, she was the publisher of the Chicago Reader newspaper, where she led the publication’s shift to a nonprofit business model to broaden its revenue sources. She has won numerous LGBTQ community and journalism honors, including the Lambda Legal Bon Foster Award (2023), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Journalists Association (2022), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Headline Club (2013), and the Public Narrative’s Studs Terkel Award (2005).  Over the years, she has written and edited 13 books and directed and produced several films.  

Press Forward Chicago welcomes and continues to invite additional funders to join this effort. For more information, visit www.cct.org/press-forward. 

About Press Forward Chicago 

Press Forward Chicago is a funder collaborative housed at The Chicago Community Trust, designed in partnership with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and local journalism donors and practitioners. The initiative aims to enrich the quality, reach and diversity of news reporting in the Chicago region, ensuring residents can access relevant, credible, and trusted information. Press Forward Chicago is a local chapter of Press Forward, the national initiative led by the MacArthur Foundation. Press Forward Local Chapters are an opportunity for funders to create place-based initiatives for local news driven by the specific needs of their communities.