Star System
Stephen Chapman, Tribune * 1/2: “Alternately sensible, pedestrian, soaring, and incomprehensible, Chapman’s column is a hit-or-miss event.”
Timothy McNulty, Tribune **: “White House. Although some of his articles on foreign affairs lack depth, McNulty remains a sharp White House watcher.”
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David Moberg, In These Times ***: “Senior editor. . . . Sharp and provocative, the talented Moberg is one to turn to in these times of changing economic and labor conditions.”
Clarence Page, Tribune *: “A former Pulitzer Prize winner, Page rarely moves beyond the ordinary to add fresh perspective. . . . A generally disappointing year.”
Isabel Wilkerson, New York Times *: “Chicago. More interested this year in quotes than truth. . . . Seems content with common wisdom and academic insight.”
You may wonder: Who’s responsible for these decrees? An editorial staff of about four people, who do a lot of reading, a lot of Nexis searching, and publish the quarterly Forbes MediaCritic to boot. Their criteria: the size and nature of the reporters’ audiences, standards that somehow favor both the massive Tribune and the tiny In These Times, which the 500’s managing editor, Andrew Gyory, told us is “probably furthest on the left of anything we look at. Whether what they write has impact is debatable, but it offers a point of view you don’t get elsewhere.”
