Ex-CEO of Chicago Public Media saw $900,000 payout in 2024, IRS filings show

The nonprofit owner of the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ paid its outgoing CEO more than $900,000 in 2024, new tax filings show, as it engaged in staff cuts and other measures to deal with declining revenue.

Chicago Public Media’s payout to former CEO Matt Moog was substantially higher than his compensation in prior years. His pay in 2024, representing work through September of that year, was higher than the full-year pay of other CEOs at some larger and more complex nonprofits in Chicago.

Moog was in charge when the Sun-Times and WBEZ combined in 2022, a deal that netted $61 million in a five-year pledge from foundations to support the organizations' journalism.

But revenue for both media outlets has declined in recent years, according to tax filings, and WBEZ is wrestling with a cutoff of federal grants for public broadcasting. As a result, the company has stepped up its requests for donations, often wrapping its solicitation around Sun-Times' print editions.

Moog announced his departure as CEO in December 2023, agreeing to stay until a new CEO was hired. His announcement coincided with a charge by labor unions, representing WBEZ and the Sun-Times, that a "Chicago Public Media executive" fostered a “hostile work environment.”

The two unions, the Chicago News Guild and SAG-AFTRA, never named Moog in the unspecified allegations, but dropped calls for an outside investigation by the company’s board after his announcement. The News Guild represents rank-and-file editorial employees at the Sun-Times, while SAG-AFTRA represents WBEZ employees.

Moog in 2024 received a total compensation of $943,475. In 2023, filings show his total compensation was $722,861, up from a total of $633,610 in 2022.

The filing breaks down Moog's 2024 compensation as a base salary of $407,378, "bonus and incentive compensation" of $240,188 and "other reportable compensation" of $257,344. There's also $38,565 in other compensation, which typically includes benefits and reimbursed expenses.

Chicago Public Media also paid $107,227 to Moog's company Wavetable Studios "for transitional services after his departure" from the company.

The numbers are drawn from the company’s Form 990 filings with the IRS. The 2024 return was posted by the news organization ProPublica, which collects data from electronically filed returns and often reports the figures before the IRS. The Form 990 is the filing for tax-exempt organizations.

Chicago Public Media follows a fiscal year that ends June 30. But under IRS rules, executive compensation is to be reported for full calendar years.

Victor Lim, spokesman for Chicago Public Media, said the board approved Moog’s pay in light of “industry standards and the role he played in the reorganization” that brought the Sun-Times and WBEZ together.

He said Moog also was rewarded for “providing critical stability and continuity,” during the CEO transition in 2024.

Records show Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell, who succeeded Moog in September 2024, earned close to $190,000 through the end of that year.

Moog couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

Sun-Times reporter Mitchell Armentrout, co-chair of the News Guild's bargaining unit at the paper, issued a statement from union leaders saying they "were disgusted to learn of the astronomical pay that the Chicago Public Media board handed Mr. Moog on his way out the door, shortly before the organization cut our staff by several dozen employees, including 15 Guild members, to reduce costs. It is unconscionable that our former CEO announced his resignation in December 2023 and proceeded to take home nearly $1 million in the subsequent nine months at the same time that we were told of financial challenges."

SAG-AFTRA leadership had no immediate response. Both unions are due to negotiate new contracts in 2026.

Their members complained bitterly about Moog in 2023, citing a lack of management transparency and executive salaries that they viewed as unduly high. Moog responded then that the unions resorted to the attacks because of job cuts he ordered.

A look at tax filings for other nonprofits showed Moog was paid more in 2024 than the CEOs of groups such as the Chicago Community Trust, the Joyce Foundation, the Pritzker Traubert Foundation and the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. All list revenue, expenses and assets greater than Chicago Public Media.

While Moog’s pay rose, the company encountered challenges. In 2024, Chicago Public Media ordered cuts largely affecting staff and programming at WBEZ.

This year, the belt tightening turned to the Sun-Times, with buyouts that culled 20% of the news staff, including senior editors, high-profile columnists and most of the editorial board.

The tax filings show Sun-Times revenue has dipped over two years from $40.4 million in fiscal year 2023 to $31.4 million in fiscal year 2025. The revenue comes mostly from newspaper circulation and secondarily from print and digital advertising.

In contrast, WBEZ revenue was $35.6 million in fiscal year 2025, compared to $38.7 million in fiscal year 2023. The money comes mostly from grants and memberships.