"Let people hang themselves with their own words. Nail every irony andhypocrisy, every vicious stupidity."
- Studs Terkel (quoted in One More Time, The Best of Mike Royko)
Mike Royko-- a longtime newspaper columnist in Chicago, was born on this date in 1932. It's hard to believe he's been gone 10 years. I used to read his syndicated column, and especially enjoyed the ones that included Slats Grobnik, his alter ego. He would engage Slats in somewhat spirited "conversations" that revealed a slice of life in Chicago. He cut through bureaucracy and took on causes, frequently fighting for the average Joe. A 1999 Slate book review put it this way:
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Why doesn't anyone write a newspaper column this good anymore? Royko wasn't
quite a Twain, or a Mencken, but his writing was distinctive and memorable and
in its time the closest thing to lasting literature in a daily paper. Royko could make you laugh and make you think, stir outrage at a heartless bureaucrat, or bring a tear to the eye when he flashed a glimpse of the heart hidden beneath his hard shell.
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I read those columns when I was a young reporter myself.... though my medium was radio. I loved his writing style. I appreciated the wit, the humor, the way he made points but didn't have to get in people's faces or belittle them. Even today I find his insight appealing. He knew 10 years ago what motivated Rupert Murdoch:
From Wikipedia:
...however, he (Royko) left the Sun-Times after it was sold to a group headed by Rupert Murdoch, for whom Royko said he would never work. He famously claimed, "No self-respecting fish would be wrapped in a Murdoch paper" and that, "His goal is not quality journalism. His goal is vast power for Rupert Murdoch, political power."
Imagine if old Royko could see Murdoch today. If he can, then he is probably turning in his grave.
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