Years ago, as a struggling but happy student in Chicago I would ride the El into the Loop during morning rush hour. And I would make sure that I grabbed a copy of the Sun-Times to read during the ride.
In those days the Sun-Times carried Mike Royko's fabulous column. Royko could write about city sewer contracts and make you laugh out loud. The Sun-Times was fun to read -- a lot better than the stodgy, crusty Republican Tribune. The Sun Times even had Billy Goat's tavern ("Cheeseburger, cheeseburger" from SNL) in the basement of their building.
This was, of course, before Rupert Murdoch and Conrad Black got their hands on the paper.
Well, it appears that the Sun-Times editorial board has decided to relive those days and has taken a progressive turn. Here is how Editorial Page Editor Cheryl Reed described it:
If you've been an avid reader of these pages, then you'll know you're reading history in the making. We are returning to our liberal, working-class roots, a position that pits us squarely opposite the Chicago Tribune -- that Republican, George Bush-touting paper over on moneyed Michigan Avenue. We're rethinking our stance on several issues, including the most pressing issue facing Americans today: Bush's war in Iraq.
She wrote about how the Sun-Times would be independent.
We'll be sticking our necks out on issues. You won't be scratching your heads trying to figure out where we stand. We may even break a few stories on these pages. Above all, we're going to insist that the writing be engaging, the arguments provocative. You'll probably see the changes before you read them: We are adding more photos, more illustrations, initiating a bolder design.
My goal is to make us more relevant and irreverent.
There will be no sacred cows here.
Sacred cows? Well, leading sacred cows to the slaughterhouse is what makes a newspaper great. It's what the Sun-Times should have been doing for the last 20 years. It's what Royko used to do. It's what the Sun-Times did back in 78 with its famous Mirage Tavern stories. But I guess it's better late than never.
A perusal of Sun-Times editorials since the big announcement finds the following:
Deadline in Iraq: It's time to set a date to bring our troops home
It ends with this:
The president has had more than enough time to develop and articulate an exit strategy in Iraq. Everyone wants to minimize the mess we'll leave behind. If April 1 doesn't work for the president, what date will? How long does he envision that we'll have to stay? The answer can no longer be "indefinitely." The American people need a plan, and they need it now.
And this one: America needs an effective advocate for our veterans that damned recently resigned Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson with this faint praise:
A classic political appointee -- he once chaired the Republican National Committee -- Nicholson didn't sink to the ineptitude of former FEMA head Mike Brown.
Time will tell on the Sun-Times' return to its roots. But for now, we should all say to the paper, "Welcome to the light."