On Wednesday, I ran the Chicago Journalism Quiz, looking at our city’s journalism heritage.
Each correct answer below is a link to a place you can learn more about what really happened.
Question 1
In the late 1970s, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Better Government Association teamed up to purchase and operate a bar. Staffing it with undercover journalists and setting up a secret room over the bathroom for photographers, they ran the bar as a sting operation to capture city inspectors soliciting bribes and kickbacks.
What was the bar’s name?
- O’Leary’s
- The Masthead
- Olga Fokyercelf’s
- The Sunrise Inn
- The Mirage
- Bill’s (in honor of Pulitzer Prize-winning Sun-Times cartoonist Bill Mauldin)
- Ol’ Fakey’s Fake Bar That’s Really a Sting Operation
The bar is now Brehon Pub. Good mac and cheese. The pool room in back has a bunch of photos from the Mirage investigation if you want to check that out.
Question 2
Which of these was NOT a Chicago newspaper in 1885?
- Tribune
- Sentinal
- Inter Ocean
- Telegram
- Times
- Daily News
- Herald
- Operator
- Listy
- Goodall’s Sun
- Illinois Staats Zeitung
- The National Hotel Reporter
Listy was a Bohemian newspaper (Czechs, not hipsters), and means “Leaves.” As cool as “Staats Zeitung” sounds, it just means “Illinois State Newspaper” in German.
Question 3
Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass is noted for confusing trenchant political commentary and catty junior high pom squad nicknames in his columns, for example terming Mayor Rahm Emanuel “The Rahmfather” (who loved it so much Kass presented him with a framed spoof movie poster of it for his office) and launching his crusade against “Little Bike People” (otherwise known as “people on bikes.”)
Match the Kass nicknames to their target. For extra difficulty, one of the targets has two nicknames.
1-F: The Heroic Taxpayer - U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez
2. The Khan of Madiganistan - Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan
3-A: Pool Boy - Chicago Aviation Department Deputy Commissioner David Ochal
4-D: Sensible Shoes - Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle
5-G: Meat puppets - Anyone who disagrees with him
6-C: Sen. Bullhead, the Illinois political mud puppy - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin
7-F: Little Louie - U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez
8-B: Hopium addicts - Obama supporters
In fairness, Ochal sorta deserved the “Pool Boy” tag. He used his clout to install an above-ground pool at his house without the proper permits. As for the rest, man, I don’t know, but people have started to notice the meat puppet thing and when your bike screeds can be replicated with drop-down box Mad Libs, it’s time to teach your pony a second trick.
Question 4
The Chicago Defender has which of the following accomplishments:
- The nation’s first black syndicated cartoonist got his start there
- Robert S. Abbott’s columns have been credited with helping spur the Great Migration
- Langston Hughes wrote for it
- Gwendolyn Brooks wrote for it
- The newspaper created the Bud Billiken Parade
Every last one of these things is true. I should have put “Pick all that apply” at the top but didn’t think to. Apologies.
Question 5
Which Chicago journalist is depicted in a statue on Wacker Drive?
- Ann Landers
- Ben Hecht
- Mike Royko
- Irv Kupcinet
- Robert S. Abbott
Question 6
What news scandal hit the Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune-owned properties Hoy and Newsday in the early 2000s?
- Plagiarism
- Cartel action
- Circulation inflation
- Coasting on storied heritages, gimmicky columnists and fan-service pandering in special sections rather than investing in young journalists to stay relevant in the impending newspaper age
- Ink poisoning
Question 7
When the Chicago Tribune released its commuter-friendly tabloid RedEye in 2002, the Sun-Times rushed a competing tabloid into production. What was it called?
- Red Streak
- Red Stripe
- The Red Line
- Redditor
- Reddy Red Red Red
- Splash
Splash exists, as does Red Stripe. It’s a Jamaican beer.
Question 8
Which local news source briefly had a mascot and what was it?
- Chicago Daily News – Dilly Dally, the Happy Hobo
- Chicago Tribune – A knight defending Trib Tower
- Chicago Sun-Times – A fish in a boater hat
- Chicago Daily Inter Ocean – Chief O-Chee-Ko
- WBEZ – Zaps the Radio Wave
- DNAinfo – Marc the Journalist Who Narrates Slanted Pro-Administration Documentaries and Writes Columns About the Mayor’s Music Taste and How Pretty the Police Chief’s Wedding Was
His name was Wally the Self-Respecting Fish. The DNAinfo mascot with the pro-administration documentaries, columns about mayoral iPods and pretty, pretty cop weddings is Mark with a K, so that was a trick answer. He’s gone now.
Question 9
The Chicago Daily News won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1957 for a series that exposed a $2.5 million ($21.4 million in today’s money) embezzlement scam and resulted in the conviction of the state auditor. What was that state auditor’s name?
- Otto Kerner
- William Stratton
- Orville Hodge
- Paul Powell
- Len Small
Question 10
Why don’t any of the questions in this quiz relate to TV news?
- Because the quiz author isn’t a retiree shut-in terrified that a common household cleaning product could be poisoning his grandchildren and we’ll find out which product… after these commercials.
- Because he has windows so doesn’t need someone standing in the cold for a live remote from Museum Campus to tell him it’s snowing.
- Because he’s been to the South Side for longer than the 20 seconds it takes a news crew to parachute in for B-roll of a crime scene.
- Because he already knows local festivals offer fun for the whole family.
- His last name ain’t Ponce, so he’s not getting in the door at any of them joints.
- All of the above
Man, screw TV news.
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