Real Times
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media, Publishing |
| Founded | January 2003 |
| Founder | Group of business leaders from Chicago and Detroit |
| Headquarters | Detroit, Michigan , United States |
Area served | Eastern and Midwestern United States |
Key people | William Pickard (co-owner, deceased 2024) |
| Products | Newspapers (Chicago Defender, Michigan Chronicle, Atlanta Daily World, New Pittsburgh Courier, The Michigan FrontPage, Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine), RTM Digital Studios, biographical directories (Who's Who Publishing Company) |
| Website | realtimesmedia |
Real Times Media LLC is the proprietor and publisher of the Chicago Defender, recognized as the most prominent and impactful African American weekly newspaper, in addition to five other regional weeklies serving the eastern and midwestern United States. The company’s main office is situated in Midtown Detroit.
Established in January 2003 by a group of business leaders from Chicago and Detroit, Real Times purchased the assets of Sengstacke Enterprises Inc., the long-standing owner of five of these newspapers.
Sengstacke Enterprises
The Chicago Defender was founded in 1905 by Robert Sengstacke Abbott with a focus on Chicago’s African-American population. The paper played a crucial role during the Great Migration by motivating Southern African Americans to move northward. When Abbott’s nephew, John H. Sengstacke, assumed the role of publisher in 1940, the company broadened its reach. Sengstacke was instrumental in founding the National Negro Publishers Association (which later became the National Newspaper Publishers Association), an organization comprising over 200 black newspapers.
On February 6, 1956, the Defender shifted to a daily format as the Chicago Daily Defender, becoming the second black daily newspaper nationally. In 2003, it reverted to a weekly schedule following new ownership.
Sengstacke expanded his media enterprise, Sengstacke Enterprises Inc. (SEI), by creating the Michigan Chronicle in Detroit in 1936, initiating the Tri-State Defender in Memphis in 1951, and acquiring the defunct Pittsburgh Courier, which was relaunched as the New Pittsburgh Courier in 1965.
After Sengstacke’s passing in 1997, SEI remained under family trust management until its $12 million acquisition by Real Times Media LLC in 2003, a deal that significantly increased Real Times’ presence and influence within African-American media circles.
Real Times
Following a prolonged period of uncertainty regarding the future of SEI publications—Sengstacke had arranged for their sale posthumously but securing a buyer took six years—longtime publisher of the Michigan Chronicle, Sam Logan, departed in 2000 to establish a rival weekly titled The Michigan FrontPage. Logan later invested in Real Times, which continued publishing FrontPage alongside four other Sengstacke titles.
In 2012, Real Times incorporated the Atlanta Daily World into its portfolio; its publisher emphasized that this acquisition would enhance multimedia capabilities and described it as "a new beginning for the paper."
In June 2024, William Pickard, co-owner of Real Times Media and a prominent entrepreneur, passed away.
Corporate affairs
The headquarters of Real Times Media are located in Midtown Detroit. Previously, its offices were housed first in the Globe Tobacco Building and subsequently in the Buhl Building, both situated in Downtown Detroit.
Holdings
Real Times publishes seven newspapers across five major markets:
- Atlanta Daily World based in Atlanta, Georgia
- Chicago Defender based in Chicago, Illinois
- Michigan Chronicle based in Detroit, Michigan
- The Michigan FrontPage based in Detroit, Michigan
- New Pittsburgh Courier based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine/ATM based in Atlanta, Georgia
Additionally, the company runs RTM Digital Studios, a video production enterprise, and maintains a comprehensive archive dedicated to African-American historical resources.
In 2009, Real Times broadened its offerings by acquiring Who's Who Publishing Company from Columbus, Ohio, which produces biographical directories and networking publications for African American professionals across 25 U.S. cities.