The Onion Adds Another Layer

CHICAGO, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Onion, Inc., publisher of the satirical newspaper The Onion and its pop-culture-focused sister publication The A.V. Club, has entered a new partnership with The Chicago Tribune Media Group , which calls for the Tribune to run the business side of The Onion's print edition in Chicago.  

Under the terms of the partnership, The Onion will maintain exclusive rights over all comedy and pop-culture content for the Chicago edition, as it does for all its print editions. The Tribune, which owns an array of niche publications in the Chicago market along with its flagship daily newspaper, will take over advertising sales, printing, and distribution of the local Onion.

"This promises to be a mutually beneficial and complementary arrangement," said Steve Hannah, CEO of The Onion. "We get to focus on what we do best—creation of award-winning comedy and pop culture content. And the Tribune gets to add a unique product to its portfolio of publications."

"We have best-in-class capabilities to sell, print and distribute," said Tony Hunter, CEO of Chicago Tribune Media Group.  "This is a great opportunity to extend our reach among young adults and drive more results for our clients."

The partnership is the first of many, as The Onion will continue to expand its local newspaper business nationwide with a new franchising program (www.theonionnation.com). Print editions are currently available in eight cities—from New York to Austin, with a total circulation of about 350,000—and The Onion plans to add cities and college towns to its print network with new franchises.

About The Onion

The Onion started in 1988 as a weekly newspaper at the University Of Wisconsin-Madison. Today, The Onion and The A.V. Club reach approximately 1.8 million readers in print weekly and 10 million monthly online. Along with its presence in print and on the web, The Onion has several bestselling books to its credit, offers Onion and A.V. Club merchandise through its online store, produces the Peabody award-winning Onion News Network on its web-video channel, and is currently producing two television shows—the Onion Sports Network for Comedy Central and The Onion News Network broadcast for the Independent Film Channel (IFC). Both TV shows are scheduled to debut in the first quarter of 2011.

The Onion's corporate headquarters is in Chicago. For further information contact Jesse Derris or Brandon Hatler at Sunshine Sachs & Associates at 212-691-2800.

About Chicago Tribune Media Group

Chicago Tribune Media Group is a media and business services company that publishes the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune.  CTMG also produces related print and interactive media serving Chicagoland like RedEye, Hoy, Chicago Magazine, TribLocal, TheMash, chicagotribune.com, chicagonow.com and metromix.com.  Reaching 4.8 million adults each week in the greater Chicago area, CTMG is the leading news and information destination in Chicagoland.  

SOURCE Chicago Tribune