Advertise With Us

Our readers are Chicagoans. From the corporate office professional in the Loop to the head of the household in the suburbs, the visionary of a new startup to the next generation leader of a great American manufacturer, the small business owner of a corner store to their customers who love a place where they're known by name.

Our readers are educated, engaged, and care about what's happening in their communities. These are the stories of their lives.

In the digital era, advertising has become overcomplicated and unnecessarily complex. We are not an advertising platform in the traditional sense and believe in keeping things simple.^[1]

• We do not sell placements.
• We do not publish pre-written promotional content.
• We are not in the business of trading links.

What we do, selectively, is work with a small number of partners to produce pieces that fit naturally within the voice and character of the Chicago Journal.

If it doesn’t belong here, we won’t run it.

What We Offer

From time to time, we collaborate with organizations, businesses, and institutions on:

• Partner Features
  Thoughtful, clearly labeled pieces developed in collaboration with the Chicago Journal and written or edited to match our voice.
• Local Spotlights
  Profiles of Chicago-area businesses, initiatives, or people doing meaningful work in the region.
• Newsletter Inclusion
  Select features may be included in our regular newsletter where appropriate.

Every piece is reviewed, shaped, and, when necessary, rewritten to meet our editorial standards.

Standards

To be clear, we do not accept:

• Pre-written SEO or link-building articles
• Requests whose primary purpose is backlink placement
• Content unrelated to Chicago or the broader region
• Low-quality promotional or keyword-driven submissions

All partner content is clearly labeled and held to the same standards as our editorial work.

Working Together

If you’re interested in working with us, the best place to start is a conversation.

Tell us:

• Who you are
• What you’re building
• Why it matters in Chicago

If there’s a fit, we’ll take it from there.

Pricing

We keep things straightforward.

At this time, most partner features fall in the range of $300–$600, depending on scope, level of involvement, and whether the piece is written or developed in collaboration with our team.

Larger collaborations, newsletter inclusion, or ongoing partnerships may fall outside that range.

If there’s a fit, we’re happy to keep it simple and transparent.

Contact

Please email: advertise@chicagojournal.com.

Additional Information

Notification of Changes
The Chicago Journal and Challenge Media announce all changes in rates at least 30 days before such changes and attempts to notify all active advertisers and agencies.

Rejection and Editing of Advertisements
The Chicago Journal and Challenge Media may, at its sole discretion, edit, classify, reject, or cancel at any time any advertising submitted by an advertiser.

Positioning of Advertisements
The Chicago Journal and Challenge Media shall have full positioning latitude on all advertisements except those with specified or guaranteed positions.

Liability for Errors
The Chicago Journal and Challenge Media assumes no liability for any advertisement whether or not it is supplied by the advertiser. The Chicago Journal and Challenge Media is not responsible for errors in key codes or box numbers. The Chicago Journal and Challenge Media shall not be liable to advertiser for any loss that results from the incorrect publication, positioning, or omission of its advertisements.

Payment
All rates provided by the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media are based on payment by check or electronic funds transfer as discussed with advertiser. Payment is due upon receipt of invoice. In the event that the advertiser fails to make timely payment, the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media may immediately cancel all orders for advertising and advertiser shall indemnify the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media for all expenses incurred in connection with the collection of amounts payable, including court cost and attorneys’ fees.

Ownership of Advertising Copy
All advertising copy that represents the creative effort of the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media and/or the utilization of creativity, illustrations, labor, composition or material furnished by it is and remains the property of the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media, including all rights of copyright therein. Advertisers cannot authorize photographic or other reproductions, in whole or in part, of any such advertising copy for use in any other medium without the express written consent of the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media.

Advertiser and Agency Liability
The Chicago Journal and Challenge Media reserves the right to hold advertiser and its advertising agency jointly and severally liable for such monies as are due and payable to the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media. Advertiser and its advertising agency shall indemnify the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media from all damages, costs and expenses, of any nature whatsoever, including attorneys’ fees, for which the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media may become liable by reason of its publication of advertiser’s advertising or provision of production services to advertiser.

Taxes on Advertising
In the event that any international, federal, state, or local taxes are imposed on the printing of advertising materials or on the sale of advertising space, such taxes shall be assumed and paid by the advertiser.

Cancellations
The closing time for cancellations of advertising is two business days prior to scheduled date of publication. Cancellations will not be accepted after closing. Advertiser shall be responsible for any production or creative services rendered by the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media, regardless of cancellation of ad.

Miscellaneous
Forwarding of an order is construed as an acceptance of all rates and conditions under which advertising space is sold at the time by the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media and such order, when accepted by the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media, shall constitute a contract. Failure to make any order correspond in price, or otherwise, with specified and documented rate stated is regarded as a clerical error and publication is made and charged for upon the rates and terms of invoice, without further notification. Special clauses in insertion orders or contracts will not be accepted if relating to legal liability, circulation guarantees or positioning requests other than franchise advertisers or position guaranteed positions. All contracts are conditional on strikes, fires, acts of God or the public enemy, war, or any cause not subject to the control of the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media, excluding advertiser’s failure and/or inability to perform. It is the policy of the Chicago Journal and Challenge Media that credits resulting from rate adjustments can be applied to outstanding balances or future advertising (no cash refunds). If the client refuses credits by not applying credits to outstanding balances or future advertising within one year from date issued, then this shall constitute the client’s refusal of the credit.

Notes & References