Sun-Times Axes Its Video Team

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 3, 2015 8:45PM

The hits keep coming at the Sun-Times.

Wrapports has just pulled the plug on the entire Sun-Times video team, which the Reader regularly shared. — Philip Montoro (@pmontoro) February 3, 2015



It was only a two-person team, according to media reporter and critic Jim Romenesko. One was laid off last month while the other was let go today in a cost-cutting move from Wrapports LLC, the parent company that owns the Sun-Times and Chicago Reader.

There's a hint of irony surrounding the move. The Sun-Times fired its entire photography staff in May 2013. Here is what the Sun-Times said about that move back then.

"The Sun-Times business is changing rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and are focused on bolstering our reporting capabilities with video and other multimedia elements. The Chicago Sun-Times continues to evolve with our digitally savvy customers, and as a result, we have had to restructure the way we manage multimedia, including photography, across the network."

In a Chicago magazine profile some months later, Wrapports chairman Michael Ferro said he planned on firing the photographers from the day he bought the paper. Now Wrapports is all in on the Sun Times Network, a platform that aggregates content in nearly 70 cities across the nation, while the Sun-Times' website looks like an afterthought these days.

Which is a shame, because the video team has done some wonderful work.