The trouble with history is that they keep making more of it. When I last sat in a J-school classroom studying the history of journalism as literature, the topics were Stephen Crane's Maggie, a Girl of the Streets, Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie, and Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Now it seems that the great Mike Royko has faded into the all too easily ignored halls of history. Newsosaur Alan Mutter has set off a kerfluffle with his blog posting, "Who's Mike Royko?" If you haven't read the followups, you should.
Royko? Who, indeed? My 15-year-old daughter knows about Mike Royko, because a couple of weeks ago we sat in the infamous Billy Goat Tavern, hidden in the service corridors under Chicago's Michigan Avenue. The place is a shrine to Royko, who practically lived there. I explained Royko as best I could. I also had to explain Saturday Night Live and the "Cheeseborger" skit. History sneaks up on us.
Is Royko relevant in the 21st century? I think there's much the aspiring blog-centric journalist can learn from the writings of Chicago's voice of the people, the man who almost singlehandedly carried the old Chicago Daily News for years, the man who sold more newspapers than anyone who sat in any publisher's office in the city of broad shoulders.
Today's J-student should understand that the task is not to get a job and draw a paycheck, but rather to build a following. Learn from Royko.
Comments
Self-promotion
Steve - Great point. I would add that journalists can take advantage of the Internet to build the following that you mention. In a recent post, I outlined how reporters can promote their work through the use of a number of online tools.