Posted on 12/19/2025 11:38:11 AM PST by Beave Meister
The other day R. Bruce Dold, the great Pulitzer Prize winning editor of the Chicago Tribune, died.
And our friend Cory Franklin wrote a beautiful column about Bruce.
At the church there were many people there, people I knew, former colleagues at the Tribune who loved and respected Bruce.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were not there for Bruce alone, but that we also were mourning journalism itself.
At least Chicago journalism, the Chicago newspapers.
I’m not trying to redo Dr. Franklin’s great work about Bruce, but I did add an editor’s note explaining that while he might have come to us from New Jersey, he was all Chicago, because he understood our tribal ways:
In the late ‘90s, I used to go check The Chicago Tribune to make sure I wasn’t missing something.
Haven’t done that in 20 years.
Chicago journalism went on life support when Mike Royko passed. John Kass has some flashes, but it’s a sad place to look for actual reporters and opinion people who have the best interest of their readers at heart. Just like the politicians.
Royko was the best. Grew up in the Region. My Pop read Royko religiously. His book, “Boss” about Mayor Daily is a classic.
I have that book “Boss.” I got to meet Mike Royko a couple of times. He used to hang out at Billy Goat’s Tavern at Lower Wacker Drive, it was made famous by John Belushi in his Saturday Night skit “cheeseburger, cheeseburger.” If you didn’t bother him and just wanted to say hello or something quick he was great. But if you were a stranger and tried to get into a deep conversation about something he would cut you off and that person would get the hint.
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