Back of the Yards Newspaper Collection

The Back of the Yards Journal was established in 1932 by John Haffner and Aaron Hurwitz under the name, Town of Lake Journal, as the area was called before annexation to Chicago in 1889. In 1939, the paper changed its name to help publicize the newly formed Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council (BYNC) of which Haffner and Hurwitz were charter members. The newspaper served Chicago residents located in the Southwest community area of New City just south and west of the Union Stock Yards from 39th to 55th Streets between Halsted and the railroad tracks along Leavitt Street. The shifting nature of this community was originally the product of successive generations of working-class and immigrant peoples, (namely Germans, Irish, Czechs, Poles, Slovaks, Mexicans) who sought work in adjacent meat packing plants and other industries. By the 1950s, the area’s businesses and industry were in decline and the Union Stock Yard officially closed in 1971.

As neighborhood demographics changed, the Back of the Yards Journal newspaper struggled to remain relevant. The Journal's focus shifted to include neighborhoods west of Back of the Yards. With encouragement from the BYNC, Back of the Yards Journal tried a bilingual approach in 1991 with the circulation of the Spanish language newspaper titled El Periódico Back of the Yards. This publication continued through July 8, 1998. On August 18, 2004, the Back of the Yards Journal’s name changed to Journal News. This step was taken to reflect its shift into community coverage of Brighton Park, Archer Heights, McKinley Park, and Bridgeport neighborhoods.

In 2005, Susan Malone left her position as Editor-In-Chief of the Journal News after 26 years of service. In this same year, Malone and entrepreneur Harry J. Galinski began publication of a brand new community newspaper, City NewsHound. The NewsHound served the neighborhoods of Garfield Ridge and Clearing on Chicago's southwest side. In 2006, Patrick J. Salmon (publisher of Journal News) asked Malone to publish the Journal News from the City NewsHound offices. In 2007, upon Salmon’s retirement, Malone and her Neighborhood Newspaper Group acquired the Journal News which continued its established circulation to the west of the City NewsHound.

The Journal News underwent many changes as the years went on. Different circulation areas were tested, which resulted in some areas being dropped and some new areas being added. The Journal News and City NewsHound continued to cover the news of their circulation area, but shared many new features and columns.

On July 2, 2015, the Southwest Community Publishing Company purchased the assets of Neighborhood Newspaper Group, publisher of Journal News and City NewsHound. Following this acquisition, the Journal News became known as Archer Journal News and the City NewsHound merged with the Clear-Ridge Reporter.

Co-written with Susan Malone, 2019.