There’s a slow-moving, but consistently rolling, train of thought that says that the Chicago Sun-Times is dying/ is poorly run/ etc. There was a post to this effect last week, but we’ve all heard these things for years now. Expressing dismay about the Chicago Sun-Times is something of fun sport for the portion of the journalism crowd that loves to cluck.
I love journalism and journalists and real newspapers. I so much appreciate the work of people who put facts together and then hit me with them.
And I love the Chicago Sun-Times. And I share the dismay about link farms and thinned pages. But I want to point out some Sunday morning facts on the ground to the hand-wringers:
- ANALYSIS: Aldermen insist Rahm ‘wear the jacket’ for CPS scandal, by Fran Spielman. A story that pulls together the scandal and puts pressure on those in power.
- An alderman, the mob and an SRO, by Mark Brown: a workaday article about possible corruption. I was completely ignorant about this topic until this morning.
- THE WATCHDOGS: Chicago police monitored black protesters post-Ferguson, by Mick Dumke. He’s reporting on “records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times”. They are fighting for access to the actions of those in power. While we sleep.
- Barbara Byrd-Bennett joins Hall of Shame, by Mary Mitchell, where she asks where the watchdogs were for those in power.
That’s four original pieces of indispensable words, coming from a newspaper in our city, this morning. I’m not counting the Dan Mihalopoulos and Lauren Fitzpatrick drill-down into specific emails from Barbara Byrd-Bennett (“Emails: Ex-CPS CEO was outraged City Hall questioned no-bid deal“), because it was published on Friday. Add to that Carol Marin’s scorcher from yesterday, just for fun: Emanuel needs to own CPS scandal, and you’ve got, from where I sit, a publication we simply cannot live without.
I appreciate the entirety of the Chicago Sun-Times, however it is structured, whoever happens to run it, whatever spammy links they happen to publish. Because this morning, when I rose from a soft bed and comfy North Side life, they had ready for me a series of hard truths. This is not theoretical. It is real, this morning, now. And they wrote it all while I slept.
So my request to the journo-whiners in this city, those who sit on the sidelines and cluck their tongues while the real reporters slog and fight and type: wake up and read.
Postcript: There are also three brilliant sports stories this morning about a baseball game that happened last night.
- Bunt-happy Joe Maddon leads the charge in wild Cubs’ victory by Rick Morrisey.
- Despite struggles of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Cubs two victories from advancing by Rick Telander
- Expect history: Cubs plan on doing something special by Gordon Wittenmyer
These stories had everything I want as a Chicago person who paid half-attention to last night’s game over the Internet and radio. They used their vast knowledge of baseball, the history of the local team, and the importance of the moment to deliver a great package of stories. I appreciate them, too.