Nothing funny about Sun-Times shrinking comics

Chicago Sun-Times (November 1, 2018)

Edwin Eisendrath, who abruptly resigned as CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday, isn't the only thing missing from the newspaper today. About half its comics and its daily TV listings are suddenly gone too.

In an unsigned message to readers Thursday, the Sun-Times said it was saving newsprint and production costs by cutting two of its three pages of comics and eliminating its TV grid. Some comics and puzzles (including the New York Times crossword) will be interspersed throughout the classifieds section.

Ziggy

Astute readers noted that the casualties appear to include One Big Happy, Pooch Cafe, Real Life Adventures, Bizarro, Grand Avenue, Red and Rover, Lio, Deflocked, Sally Forth, Duplex and Ziggy.

"We recently surveyed our readers to see what they value and also studied industry trends," the paper said. "Headwinds in the newspaper industry continue to be strong, especially when it comes to newsprint and other production costs. Paring back some comics and making more effective use of our classifieds space will allow us to reinvest in the quality journalism you’ve come to expect."

Sunday comics and puzzles and the TV Weekly magazine will remain unchanged.