Royko, Mike, 1932-1997

Chicago newspaper columnist.

Mike Royko was born September 19, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of an immigrant tavernkeeper and his wife. He grew up in Chicago, in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. He spent four years in the air force in Korea as a radio operator and at O'Hare Field as editor of the base newspaper. In 1956 Royko applied to the Chicago City News Bureau for a job. He began writing articles for small Chicago neighborhood papers, and then in 1959 Royko was hired by the Chicago Daily News, initially as a night police reporter. Soon after, he convinced the Daily News that he should have a regular column, and before long his byline appeared five days a week. Some of Royko's favorite topics were Mayor Richard J. Daley and the Chicago political machine, national politics, race, generational differences, cultural trends, animals, and sports. Regularly, he also published letters from his readers and his own comments on those letters. Royko received the ultimate recognition within his profession in 1972 when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. After the Daily News folded in 1978 Royko moved to the Chicago Sun-Times, where his columns initiated criminal investigations and influenced political contests. When the Sun-Times was purchased by media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1984, Royko left in disgust for the rival Chicago Tribune. With Tribune syndication, Royko was soon appearing in 600 newspapers across the country. He died in Chicago on April 29, 1997.