The Reporter (newspaper)
Encyclopedia
The Reporter is an American weekly community newspaper based in the Chicago
suburb of Palos Heights
, Illinois
, and serves the Illinois communities of Oak Lawn
, Evergreen Park, Worth
, Chicago Ridge, Palos Hills and Hickory Hills
. It has both print and online editions, with a print circulation of 18,000. It is a Thursday newspaper delivered to subscribers via mail, but hits news stands Wednesday.
The newspaper is produced and printed by Regional Publishing Corp., which also publishes The Regional News and many high school and college newspapers including those of Joliet Catholic Academy
, Oak Lawn Community High School
, Carl Sandburg High School
, Moraine Valley Community College
, Elmhurst College
and the City Colleges of Chicago
.
– and Evergreen Park.
Charles Richards, then-owner of Regional Publishing Corp., purchased the newspaper in 1986. Most of the existing staff was retained as was the office in Chicago Ridge. A year later, the newspaper's office was moved to Regional Publishing's office at 12247 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights. The newspaper eventually dropped Alsip, Crestwood and Bridgeview from its coverage area.
It established an online edition in January 2006. The website includes videos and sports blogs, as well as news updates during the time between print editions.
in 2005 because members of the communities the newspaper serves participated in relief efforts in Louisiana
and Mississippi
.
It also has an award-winning sports section that covers local high-school and college athletics. Some subscribers get the newspaper solely for this section, called Sports Southwest. Sports editor Ken Karrson does most of the writing and managing editor Jason Maholy doubles as sports photographer.
The newspaper's arts and entertainment section, Out & About, includes movie reviews, an events calendar, and the occasional restaurant review. The section received second place in its class (Division C, which includes the largest non-daily newspapers in Illinois) in 2008 from the Illinois Press Association.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
suburb of Palos Heights
Palos Heights, Illinois
Palos Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 12,561 in 2005.-Geography:Palos Heights is located at ....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and serves the Illinois communities of Oak Lawn
Oak Lawn, Illinois
Oak Lawn is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 55,245 at the 2000 census.Oak Lawn is a suburb of the city of Chicago, located southwest of the city...
, Evergreen Park, Worth
Worth, Illinois
Worth is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, a suburb of Chicago. The population was 10,789 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Worth is located at ....
, Chicago Ridge, Palos Hills and Hickory Hills
Hickory Hills, Illinois
Hickory Hills is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,926 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hickory Hills is located at ....
. It has both print and online editions, with a print circulation of 18,000. It is a Thursday newspaper delivered to subscribers via mail, but hits news stands Wednesday.
The newspaper is produced and printed by Regional Publishing Corp., which also publishes The Regional News and many high school and college newspapers including those of Joliet Catholic Academy
Joliet Catholic Academy
Joliet Catholic Academy is a coed Catholic High School located in Joliet, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet. One of the oldest Catholic high schools in the Chicago area, Joliet Catholic is perhaps best known for its prowess in football...
, Oak Lawn Community High School
Oak Lawn Community High School
Oak Lawn Community High School , is a school in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, Illinois. The name "Spartans" and the colors Green and White were chosen by a committee in tribute to the Michigan State University Spartans, who won the Rose Bowl in 1954.-Academics:In 2009, OLCHS had an average...
, Carl Sandburg High School
Carl Sandburg High School
Carl Sandburg High School, Sandburg, or CSHS, is a public four-year high school located at the intersection of La Grange Road and 131st Street in Orland Park, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Consolidated High School District 230, which also...
, Moraine Valley Community College
Moraine Valley Community College
Moraine Valley Community College is a community college located in Palos Hills, Illinois in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. Founded in 1967, it is the second largest community college in the state. It has an enrollment of approximately 35,000...
, Elmhurst College
Elmhurst College
Elmhurst College is a comprehensive private liberal arts college in Elmhurst, Illinois with a tradition of service-oriented learning. It has a rich affiliation with the United Church of Christ.- History :...
and the City Colleges of Chicago
City Colleges of Chicago
The City Colleges of Chicago is a system of seven community colleges which provide learning opportunities for Chicago residents at the schools or online, and also members of the US military through the Navy Campus to enhance their knowledge and skills. Student enrollment was 115,000 in 2007...
.
History
It was founded in 1960 to serve Worth, Chicago Ridge, Palos Hills and Hickory Hills. The newspaper was known for many years as the Worth-Palos Reporter, the name signifying the two townships the newspaper serves (and still referred to as such by many older readers, despite not carrying that name since the mid-1980s). The paper eventually added Alsip, Crestwood and Bridgeview to its coverage area. The paid-circulation newspaper expanded again in 1983 into Oak Lawn – one of the largest municipalities today in south suburban Cook CountyCook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
– and Evergreen Park.
Charles Richards, then-owner of Regional Publishing Corp., purchased the newspaper in 1986. Most of the existing staff was retained as was the office in Chicago Ridge. A year later, the newspaper's office was moved to Regional Publishing's office at 12247 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights. The newspaper eventually dropped Alsip, Crestwood and Bridgeview from its coverage area.
It established an online edition in January 2006. The website includes videos and sports blogs, as well as news updates during the time between print editions.
Coverage
The newspaper publishes three editions: Palos Hills-Hickory Hills, Worth-Chicago Ridge and Oak Lawn-Evergreen Park. The only differences among the three editions are the front pages, which each carry news most specific to the two towns each edition serves. The newspaper places a strong emphasis on local news and is known as a "hyperlocal" newspaper, meaning it covers almost exclusively news and events relevant only to the people in the communities it serves, and rarely covers news outside those communities regardless of the magnitude. For example, the paper did not cover the 2008 presidential election; however, did write localized stories related to Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in 2005 because members of the communities the newspaper serves participated in relief efforts in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
.
It also has an award-winning sports section that covers local high-school and college athletics. Some subscribers get the newspaper solely for this section, called Sports Southwest. Sports editor Ken Karrson does most of the writing and managing editor Jason Maholy doubles as sports photographer.
The newspaper's arts and entertainment section, Out & About, includes movie reviews, an events calendar, and the occasional restaurant review. The section received second place in its class (Division C, which includes the largest non-daily newspapers in Illinois) in 2008 from the Illinois Press Association.
Staff
The newspaper is published by Amy Richards, who took over Regional Publishing from her father, Charles, in 2005. Its managing editor is Jason Maholy and its staff writers include Bob Jaderberg and Kevin Olsen. Contributing writers are movie reviewer Jase Howell, and health columnists Dee Woods (alternative medicine) and Anthony "The Wine Guy" Scarano (naturopathic medicine).External links
- thereporteronline.net, newspaper's official website
- theregionalnews.com, official website of The Regional News, a sister publication
- http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Palos-Heights-IL/The-Reporter/108619845825636