Chicago Jewish Star
Front page of the December 7–20, 2001,
issue of the Chicago Jewish Star |
|
| Type | Free semi-monthly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Star Media Group, Inc. |
| Editor | Douglas Wertheimer Gila Wertheimer |
| Founded | February 22, 1991 |
| Headquarters |
Skokie, IL United States
|
| Circulation | 17,500 |
| ISSN | 1054-1365 |
The Chicago Jewish Star is an independent twice-monthly general interest Jewish newspaper based in Skokie, Illinois. It provides news analysis and opinion on local, national and international events of relevance to the Jewish community, with a focus on literature and arts, politics, and the Middle East. It is a continuation of The Jewish Star, a Canadian newspaper operated by the same principals from 1980-90.
The Chicago Jewish Star was founded in 1990 by Douglas Wertheimer, Editor and President of Star Media Group Inc., and Gila Wertheimer, Associate Editor, with its first issue appearing February 22, 1991. It entered a Chicago Jewish newspaper field dominated by the Jewish Federation-run, controlled-circulation JUF News (founded in 1972), and the long-running independent weekly The Sentinel (founded in 1911). The Jewish Star was the first new Jewish newspaper published solely for the Chicago area in nearly 75 years.
The Jewish Star was the first Jewish newspaper in Metro Chicago to receive news by fax or electronically; the first to be distributed for free at locations throughout Metro Chicago; the first to be distributed via street corner news boxes; and the principals were the first to publish Jewish newspapers in both Canada and the United States.
Local news, editorial, advertising and design is generated mainly in-house, with additional news and feature contributions from syndicated columnists, news services and occasionally freelance writers. The editorial position has been independent; politically, its stance has changed on some issues. Following the signing of the Oslo Accords in Washington in 1993, for example, the paper remained cautiously optimistic about Mideast peace even in the face of Palestinian violence against Israel. But by 2007, it was in the camp of those who question the two-state solution.
A tabloid-sized newspaper ranging from 12 to 36 pages, it had a circulation at its launching of 10,000 copies, rising to 20,000 in 1993 and 24,500 by 1996. The paper is available free for pick-up at locations throughout Metro Chicago, by mail subscription and in an email PDF edition (since December 2008). Its masthead was designed in 1990 by Chicago graphic artist Gerry Kalvelage of BBDO, and includes the newspaper’s motto "Useful Information Faithfully Recorded" (a loose translation from the Hebrew of Ecclesiastes XII:10).
In the annual Chicago Headline Club-sponsored Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism competition for work done in 2015 and 2013, the Jewish Star was a Finalist for Best Editorial Writing. In the Lisagor competition covering 2012, the Jewish Star won awards in its publishing category for Arts Reporting, Political and Government Reporting, and Editorial; and had eight Finalist citations in six entry groups (Design, Political and Government Reporting, Editorial, Sports, Arts, In-Depth Reporting).
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