Monica celebrates 40 years in journalism
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A 16-year-old Monica distributes mail in the Chicago Sun-Times features department with a Diet Coke that she does not drink anymore. Photo: Courtesy of Bill Linden
Forty years ago this month, I started my first journalism job as a copy clerk at the Sun-Times.
Full disclosure: My mom was dating Roger Ebert at the time, and I got the gig entirely through clout.
Why it matters: The milestone gives me a chance to reflect on changes in the biz and thank my lucky stars I'm still in it.
The tech: My job was to take written phone messages, cart up the afternoon editions and distribute mail to the features department — duties and a department that no longer exists.
Trump effect: In 2004, the Sun-Times building at 401 N. Wabash was demolished to make way for Trump Tower, where many staffers believed the newsroom would return until the deal was nixed.
Cross street rivals: Despite the competition between the Sun-Times and Tribune (where I would report from 1996-2013), reporters would regularly commiserate over drinks in neutral territory downstairs at the Billy Goat Tavern.
- Today, both papers have decamped for cheaper, less prominent office space.
The latest: One recent Tribune relocation spot — Freedom Center on West Grand — is now slated to become a giant haunted house. Enough said.
The one constant: My favorite lunch as a teenage (sort of) vegetarian in 1985 became a Billy Goat cheeseburger, minus the patty and loaded with pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard.
- Forty years later, I assembled the same burger in the still charmingly grimy tavern and zinged immediately back to the summer of 1985.
What's next: Another 40 years in Chicago journalism, I hope.