Joe Mansueto
While his name has not surfaced so much in the most recent Chicago Tribune conversations, he should. He’s a known buyer of media properties like Inc. and Fast Company, and long nurtured Time Out Chicago before returning it to its mothership. (He’d previously been identified as a suitor for the Tribune-owned Chicago magazine when it was sold to them.) And unlike several of the other names who keep coming up, he’s our billionaire, likely to keep the company’s center of influence here in Chicago rather than moving it out to LA. Most importantly, unlike most other candidates, he respects journalism and knows not to use it as a toy to further his personal projects and pals. He’s a major investor in Wrapports, the owner of the Sun-Times, but its clown-car antics do not seem to be his style, which is why we would not be surprised to see him cross town to shape a serious journalism organization to his liking.
AUDIENCE CHOICE: Rupert Murdoch, News Corp.
Best of Chicago 2013