Sun-Times Stresses Some Mindless
Controversy, Emphasizing “You Did—I Didn’t” Brainless Bickering

First in a series of Monday reviews of news coverage in Chicago.

The “Sun-Times,” desperate to stay alive has not just changed its format to resemble that of the “National Enquirer”—it has done worse. It has notified its Op Ed columnists that if they want to continue writing for the tabloid, they better jolly well (a) skip a lot of the details involving public policy research and (b) concentrate on the “human issues” i. e. the battles between Gov. Blagojevich and House Speaker Madigan. The ultimatum doesn’t just come from the new editorial page editor who in her writing seemingly scrawls with crayon. It is transmitted to by editor Michael Cooke to columnists scattered throughout the paper. Some stand up to the ultimatum; others are cravenly happy to capitulate.

What often comes out is opinions unfortified by facts but crude epithets. Sometimes the personal zingers work but sometimes not. Losers are readers who want to understand some of the facts behind issues. Here are some of the latest zingers that make it to the columns—the hope being that they will excite either support or hot animosity…whatever comes first, just to certify that readers hackles will be raised.

Richard Roeper, 40ish, long-in-the-tooth supposedly “young” single who fills the girl-ogling bachelor niche in the paper with wafer-thin thoughts that probably take 10 minutes to file, played it both ways last week. The headline was: “Gore can be full of hot air but passion is real.” He goes light on the negatives of Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize…such as how he triumphed over bona-fide contenders in a shameless exhibition of Nobel partisanship…but the headline certifies that his pro- and anti-Gore readers will be skimming his stuff. Roeper then takes on a favorite target: President Bush and sounds like a minor-league Jay Leno, suggesting that the president will write these books after he leaves office…with titles like “Where’d I Leave My Boots?”…”I Still Say Brownie Did a Heckuva Job” and “That bin Laden Sure was a Tough Turtle to Drown.”

This is stupid marketing for one thing because the newspaper proclaims that it is a working man’s newspaper. Study the demographics and you will understand that working people—mainly union people, church goers and social traditionalists—are far less likely to thrill to silly leftish, “Playboy—style tirades like Roeper’s.

There is seemingly nothing that Roeper won’t neglect to demagogue. In a recent column he picks on an easy target—Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho). But it is old stuff to slur him for allegedly making a move with his foot on an undercover cop in the next booth. No, Roeper has to insinuate that the GOP wants Craig to resign because it is anti-gay. The question for Republicans he asks is: “Do you want Craig gone because he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct or because he just might be homosexual?” By his twisted logic, of course, the Republicans cannot win. If they keep Craig they will be taunted for going easy on one who pled guilty to deviate behavior; if they push him out, they will have been found guilty of homophobia.

Someone else who follows the zinger line…but not as badly as Roeper… is Mary Mitchell who sees her role as resolutely in support of all black pols almost without exception…catering to the Michael Cooke formula that blacks are tokens to be patronized by one of its number who is willing to exhibit no independence of thought but down-the-line chauvinism.

Anyone who remembers the “Sun-Times” that used to be under such editorial editors as Emmett Dedmon and Milburn (Pete) Akers will want to drown himself in beverage at the Billy Goat on reading the shallowly mindless Roeper who if he ever had a conservative thought pass through his brain would collapse of a hemorrhage.

In contrast there are a few features that reflect the decent thoughtful coverage of the old “Sun-Times.” Tom McNamee’s piece on neighborhoods is almost always very good and his feature on Nelson Algren superb. Carol Marin had a very thoughtful political column on the North Shore 10th district Sunday which posed the view that the two Democrats opposing Mark Kirk may well weaken the very legitimate chance Dan Seals has to make the pragmatic save-myself-at-all-costs Kirk a loser.

Lynn Sweet is a great political reporter in the ideological tradition of George Tagge of “The Tribune” who minced no words in coverage to hide his conservatism. Sweet does the same with her liberalism but every so often her rectitude catches up with her…as it did on occasion with Tagge…and she provides balanced coverage. But in line with the paper’s new slant to inflammatory name-calling, Sweet wrote a column last week assailing Ann Coulter, the conservative gadfly who makes a fortune selling books and delivering speeches for $50,000 a pop—stemming from her appearances gratis on TV. Coulter is far from my cup of tea; as a matter of fact, she fits neatly into the acidly bitter pseudo “controversy” that “Sun-Times” editor Michael Cooke wants to engender in order to save the paper. Sweet wrote a column that pleads for people to ignore Coulter but says it in huge railroad blockbuster type: “JUST IGNORE HER!” Coulter should send Sweet a check—the only time in recent memory that readers were warned against Coulter by means of a super-black headline calling attention to her name.

The paper still has strong suits in its favor. One is Fran Spielman who is probably the best city hall reporter over there and who has the gutsy independence to veer away from the blandishments of Maestro Cooke. Another is Dan Miller of the business page—a steady veteran whose knowledge of Chicago is unmatched by any on the “Tribune”s business page. The greatest asset certainly has to be the paper’s cartoonist, Jack Higgins who is one of the great pad and pencil capturers of our time—ranking easily with Herblock, McCutcheon, Orr, Parrish and Shoemaker. Steve Huntley, the former editorial page editor, is writing thoughtful, prudent stuff and probably glories at not having to please his bosses—as it is obvious he doesn’t. Sneed is an outstanding columnist who regularly scores terrific news beats in exclusive categories.

The miracle of it is that when you see the two papers side by side, you probably will pick up the “Sun-Times” first (that’s what I do at any rate). But the time is fast coming when you want to cover it up with a plain brown wrapper. Would you want to unfold the “National Enquirer” on a bus? I think not. The “Sun-Times’” cheapness of its ogling at mammary pix and the shallowness of Roeper and the garishness of its headlines, brings down the paper so that by the time you leaf through it you have a sense that you want to wash your hands. It uses scatological terminology without apology—a Men’s Room description of anger, for instance; the glaring headline “Eat Crap” for a feature on Sunday. This is Michael Cooke at his worst. Working for that kind of mentality might prompt some who are bound to accept his dictums in order to keep their jobs to drink themselves into insensibility every night to forget.

When a paper descends to this level, there is every indication that it won’t last very long. I will salute its demise as it is a disgrace in its present state. My only regret is that there will be a number of good journalists who will be out of work because Mr. Cooke grinds out his disgusting sausage.

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Thomas F. Roeser is chairman of the editorial board of The Chicago Daily Observer.