Jake Malooley

Jake Malooley, senior editor of Time Out Chicago, has been hired as managing editor of the Chicago Reader.

Reader editor Mara Shalhoup confirmed Thursday that Malooley is replacing Sam Worley, who resigned as deputy editor in December to focus exclusively on his writing.

“I'm an admirer of Jake's work — particularly his deep knowledge of Chicago and his ability to write intelligently on a wide variety of topics,” Shalhoup told me. “I think he's a natural fit for the Reader.”

Malooley was one of only a handful of staffers who were retained when Time Out Chicago was sold back to Time Out North America last April and ceased publication of its weekly print magazine in favor of a digital-only strategy.

A graduate of DePaul University and former intern at NewCity Chicago, Malooley joined Time Out Chicago as an editorial assistant in 2006 and quickly advanced to editor of the magazine’s front section, where he managed a stable of freelance journalists and edited, reported and wrote stories on everything from local politics to pop culture.

The Reader, a free alternative weekly, is one of the few profitable enterprises owned by Sun-Times parent company Wrapports LLC.