Long-time film critic Richard Roeper among those accepting buyout with the Sun-Times

CHICAGO (WGN) — For the last 37 years, Richard Roeper climbed the ranks at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he became a well-renowned film critic. On Wednesday, he let Chicago know he is another staffer set to be cut from the paper.

“I dreamt of one day writing for the Sun-Times and to go through the ranks as an editorial assistant reporter, news columnist,” Roeper told WGN News. “When I started, they still had a smoking room in the Chicago Sun-Times newsroom.”

Roeper said he was a cinephile from a young age, leading to a career that culminated in him having a friendship with one of the greatest film critics of all time.

“I grew up loving movies,” Roeper said. “I was at the same newspaper as Roger Ebert, who’s the most famous and beloved film critic of all time … I eventually got to not only be friends with him but do the TV show with him so, it really was the love of movies I learned from Roger.”

Roeper said he was among the 20% of staff set to leave the Sun-Times—the most drastic staff cuts the paper has faced since 2013.

Of the 107 current employees who work for the Sun-Times and WBEZ, 35 have accepted buyouts from nonprofit owner Chicago Public Media (CPM), including 15 Sun-Times guild members, eight non-union editorial staffers and 12 employees on the business side of the organization.

Along with additional cost-cutting measures, including leaving executive roles vacant, CPM said it will save $4.2 million annually and avoid layoffs in the near future.

“Some people work behind the scenes, while others have recognizable bylines and specific areas of coverage,” CPM CEO Melissa Bell said in a statement. “Each of them has played a vital role in shaping our organization into what it is today, and all are deeply valued. Their absence will be felt, but so will their legacy, and we are truly thankful for their contribution to public service through journalism.”

In January, CPM began offering voluntary buyouts to address an impending budget gap. According to the Sun-Times, the buyouts offered up to 24 weeks of severance pay and bonuses of up to $12,500 based on seniority.

Tim Franklin, the Senior Associate Dean of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, said this it’s a sad trend that’s continued to play out over the last decade—not just in Chicago—but across the country.

“It’s a very sad day for the Sun-Times and a sad day for journalism in Chicago,” Franklin said. “We’re losing some huge voices—Michael Sneed, Rick Tellender, Rick Morrissey, Lorraine Forte from the editorial board.”

“We’ve also seen over the past ten years, a loss of 60% of ad revenue at newspapers across the country, not just at the Sun-Times,” Franklin said. “You can’t lose that huge of a chunk of one of your major revenue sources without there being economic consequences.”

As for his future, Roeper said he plans to continue his podcast and explore other options in the journalism world.

“I’m going to continue to write reviews on some platform somewhere, but times change and we have to roll with the changes,” Roeper said.