Gapers Block has been a beloved local powerhouse since the early Bush years, while Chicagoist started as a humble branch of the national Gothamist network, hungry for an identity. But the underdog has come into its own. Chicagoist recently updated its UX design for a sleek, magazine-style browsing experience—and it doesn’t just look important. Editor Chuck Sudo knows that, if he wants to compete with Gapers kahuna Andrew Huff for well-connected local coverage, he has to seek out interesting minds (and sometimes polarizing figures) in every niche. So he recruited star writers such as film critic Joel Wicklund, an acquaintance of the late Roger Ebert, and political activist Aaron Cynic (speaking of underdogs…), who posted riveting coverage of Occupy Chicago and the 2012 G8 protests from a risky, personal perspective. The Chicagoist team has worked hard to make it an essential local read, and it has become a crucial part of digging the Chicago scene circa now.
