Royko at The Goat

With all the talking and writing I do about Mike Royko, one of my real heroes, it occurred to me that some people may not be familiar with the guy. If you want a neat little insight into Mike, and the way he loved this city.....



I clipped that from an article in today's Sun-Times, a great piece of work by Roger Ebert. I'm sure Roger's health issues have him reflecting on his years here, and the characters who he came to know, but I think Roger may also be reading the writing on the wall vis a vis newspapers in general.

The Sun-Times has joined the Trib in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the New York Times is taking a second mortgage on their building to stay afloat, The Boston Globe is in trouble, and other old newspapers are closing up shop for good.

The bad economy and the internet are conspiring against newspaper publishers, and it may not be long before the electronic media, the internet and cable "news", become not only the primary sources of information but the only sources. The days of guys like Royko and Ebert, of Dear Abbey and Kup may be coming to an end for good.