Chicago Public Media hires new CEO

Chicago Public Media , the parent company of both WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, has found its new leader.

Driving the news: The public media company announced Thursday that Melissa Bell, former publisher of Vox Media in New York City, would be the new CEO. She has run sites like Vox.com, Eater, The Verge and SB Nation.

• The 2006 Medill grad was most recently a fellow at Oxford University.
• She played a role in the Vox Media merger with New York Magazine. Before her career in management, Bell wrote a weekly consumer technology column for The Washington Post.

Between the lines: Bell takes over at a tumultuous time at the company. Outgoing CEO Matt Moog announced he was stepping down in late 2023 , but has stayed on as the board of directors searched for his replacement.

• In that time, Moog laid off staff and cut Vocalo radio and the vaunted podcast unit at WBEZ. The unionized staff filed an unfair labor complaint against him and the board of directors, and went as far to announce a vote of no confidence in Moog.

State of play: The company is also struggling financially . The Sun-Times received an influx of $61 million in philanthropic support when it was acquired in 2022, but that won't last forever.

What they're saying: "There are challenges facing CPM, but they are not insurmountable," Bell told the Sun-Times .

Zoom out: WBEZ has seen a huge drop in its radio ratings. Last month, it pulled in a paltry 1.6 share, which nudged them out of the top 20.

What's next: Bell starts in September.