Illinois

The state's first newspaper, the Illinois Herald, was begun in Kaskaskia in 1814. From the 1830s through the end of the 19th century, small-town weeklies exerted powerful political influence. After 1900, however, publishers discovered that they needed large circulations to appeal to advertisers, so they toned down their partisanship and began adding a broad range of features to attract a wider audience.

The most popular magazines published in Chicago are Playboy and Ebony. Many specialized trade and membership magazines, such as the Lion and the Rotarian, are published in Chicago, which is also the printing and circulation center for many magazines edited in New York. The popular Cricket Magazine for children is published in LaSalle-Peru.

As of 2002, Illinois had 25 morning newspapers (including allday papers), 42 evening dailies, and 30 Sunday papers. The Illinois editions of St. Louis newspapers are also widely read. The Chicago Tribune was the 7th-largest daily and 4th-largest Sunday newspaper nationwide in 2001, based on circulation figures. The following table shows the state's leading dailies with their 2002 estimated circulations: