Chris Fusco, Sun-Times executive editor, leaving to lead local news startup
The 20-year Sun-Times veteran will become the founding executive editor at Lookout Local, a venture of media analyst and writer Ken Doctor.
Chris Fusco, the top editor at the Chicago Sun-Times for the past three years, said Wednesday he is leaving the publication to begin work at a media startup in California that aims to rejuvenate local news.
Fusco will become the founding executive editor at Lookout Local, a venture of media analyst and writer Ken Doctor. Starting in October, he will work in Santa Cruz, California, where Doctor is testing a digital model for journalism he hopes to bring to markets lacking traditional news sources.
A 20-year veteran of the Sun-Times, Fusco has led the publication since 2017, when it transitioned to a new ownership group with a significant presence of organized labor. The group’s successful bid foiled a takeover attempt by owners of the Chicago Tribune that media experts believed would have led to the demise of the Sun-Times. Fusco became editor-in-chief in 2017 and was elevated to executive editor this year in recognition of an increased role in business operations.
In a message to staffers, Fusco, 47, said the paper will continue in capable hands and with owners committed to independent journalism, despite business challenges that have cost media outlets their longstanding sources of revenue.
He recalled his nervousness when he first joined a staff of storied names. “I trusted so many of you, and you trusted me back, first as a co-worker, then as a manager,” Fusco said. “Working together, our newspaper has turned the corner, looming as large as ever in the competition’s rearview mirror.
“Which is why I need you to trust me again when I say this: I’m leaving the Sun-Times — and we’re all going to be OK. I’m not running from this place. I’m choosing to take everything I’ve learned here, move to the West Coast and join a startup whose mission is to irrigate the growing number of news deserts across America.”
Managing Editor Steve Warmbir will be interim editor-in-chief of the Sun-Times. “Like me, he’s a firm believer in building a more diverse newsroom that creates opportunities and paths forward for people of color and young journalists. I am eager to see how all your fine work continues to develop under his watch and know he’ll bring a fresh perspective to the company leadership team,” Fusco said.
Among those he thanked were Jorge Ramirez, board chairman of Sun-Times Media; lead investor Michael Sacks; and Robert Reiter Jr., president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, who has been a top adviser in business matters. “All three get that this institution is bigger than all of us, and I’m as grateful to have worked alongside their talented teams as I am with all of you,” Fusco said.
He also praised company CEO Nykia Wright. “In the past two years, Nykia has put us on a path toward sustainability, building systems that allow us to amass real-time data that will result in sound decisions going forward. We’ve been a great team,” he said.
Doctor said Fusco will be the “ideal editorial leader” to build an operation that provides trusted, nonpartisan news. “Chris’ work at the Sun-Times has justly earned national recognition. His ability to both deliver the goods every day to readers, while building and mentoring a staff, matches the ambition of Lookout,” Doctor said.
At the Sun-Times, Fusco has been state government reporter, a reporter for the Watchdogs investigative team and managing editor. A native of Alsip, he started his career in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, covering towns and schools for the Northwest Herald and the Daily Herald.
In 2014, Fusco shared in the Sun-Times’ George Polk Award for its coverage of the death of David Koschman, for which a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Under his leadership, the paper in 2020 was named among the “10 That Do It Right” by Editor & Publisher is recognition of its move to digital journalism.