Mike Royko made his name as a journalist when Chicago was a city of newsprint, long before the days of social media and the 24-hour cable news cycle. Best known for his daily column, he wrote for the Chicago Daily News from 1959 until the paper’s closure in 1978; he joined the Chicago Sun-Times until it was purchased by Rupert Murdoch in 1984; he then wrote for the Chicago Tribune until his death in 1997.
Royko thought of himself as a reporter first and foremost, and his distinctive perspective on local politics and issues that mattered to fellow Chicagoans drew an audience of countless loyal readers. Eventually, national syndication gave him an audience far beyond the Chicago area. While his opinions resonated with readers across the country, his way with words and his ability to consistently capture the cares of the city’s residents make his columns an enduring part of Chicago’s literary tradition.
Curators
- Sarah Boyd Alvarez, Director of Exhibitions, Newberry Library
- Kristin Emery, Director of Governance and Strategic Initiatives, Newberry Library
- Bill Savage, Professor of Instruction, English Department, Northwestern University
Exhibition Related Public Program
Creating and Preserving Disorder: Royko, Daley, and the 1968 DNC - During the 1968 Democratic National Convention, protesters chanted “The Whole World is Watching!” as the Chicago Police Department violently asserted its control over public spaces. Chicago Daily News columnist Mike Royko was watching, and reporting, on what was later defined as a “police riot.” Watch as Northwestern Professor Bill Savage examined the politics of protest, then and now, through the lens of Royko’s writing and the dynamic of public and semi-public and private spaces in the city.
Exhibition Video Series
Did Mike Royko's Coat Rack Belong to Carl Sandburg? - Exhibition Co-Curator Kristin Emery and Curator of Genealogy and Local History Matt Rutherford take a look at the Newberry's local history resources to better understand the provenance of a coat rack that once stood in Royko's office. Royko always said that the coat rack once belonged to Carl Sandburg, but is that the case?