Wrapports
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Michael W. Ferro Jr., Timothy P. Knight |
| Fate | Sold Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Reader in 2017 |
| Headquarters | Chicago , United States |
Key people | Michael W. Ferro Jr. (Chairman and CEO), Timothy P. Knight (Co-founder) |
| Products | Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Reader, seven daily suburban newspapers, Pioneer Press chain of weekly publications |
Wrapports LLC was a privately held American publishing company responsible for the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Reader, with its headquarters located in the Sun-Times building in Chicago.
History
Established in late 2011 by Michael W. Ferro Jr., who serves as chairman and CEO of the private equity firm Merrick Ventures, alongside Timothy P. Knight, the former publisher of Newsday, Wrapports acquired the Sun-Times Media Holding Company from the estate of James C. Tyree. Tyree had previously guided the Sun-Times through its 2009 bankruptcy.
The choice of the name "Wrapports" symbolized their ambition to integrate emerging technologies with conventional print journalism, seeking to evolve the Sun-Times into a multi-platform entity that adapts to audience preferences.
In December 2011, Wrapports completed a debt-free purchase of the Sun-Times organization for roughly $20 million, a figure notably lower than Tyree’s original $25 million investment. After this transaction, CEO Jeremy Halbreich resigned, endorsing Wrapports as an appropriate leader to advance the company's future.
Wrapports’ holdings encompassed the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Sun-Times, seven daily suburban newspapers around Chicago, and the Pioneer Press chain of weekly publications serving northern and western suburbs.
The company broadened its reach in 2012 by acquiring the Chicago Reader along with associated assets for an estimated $3 million. Prior to this, the award-winning alternative weekly had been owned by Atlanta-based Creative Loafing before it declared bankruptcy.
Digital properties under Wrapports included dedicated websites for each newspaper as well as independent sites for classifieds, local high school sports coverage, and "The Straight Dope", a trivia column authored by Cecil Adams from the Reader.
By December 2012, Wrapports streamlined operations by shutting down suburban offices and moving staff to downtown locations.
In October 2014, Wrapports divested its suburban Chicago newspapers to the Chicago Tribune Media Group.
On July 13, 2017, a group led by businessman and former Chicago alderman Edwin Eisendrath—comprising private investors and the Chicago Federation of Labor—purchased the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Reader from Wrapports, surpassing a competing bid from Chicago-based publisher Tronc.