Mark Konkol

Last updated

Mark Konkol is a writer and newspaper editor from Chicago.

Contents

Early life and education

Konkol was born and raised in Chicago's south suburbs. [1] He graduated in 1991 from Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois. He then attended Culver–Stockton College for two years, where he was a starting lineman for the Wildcats football team. He then transferred to Western Illinois University, where he graduated in 1995 with bachelor's degrees in communication and journalism. [1] While at Western Illinois, he was a reporter and news editor at the Western Courier, the university's student newspaper. During the spring before his graduation, Konkol was hired by the Macomb Journal newspaper in Macomb, Illinois where he covered county government and high school sports. [2]

Professional career

Konkol wrote for Star Newspapers. He later covered Chicago City Hall for the Daily Southtown newspaper (previously the SouthtownStar) and wrote a column for the Chicago Sun-Times' Red Streak edition. He joined the Sun-Times' news staff in 2004 and has covered transportation, Cook County courts and government and Chicago neighborhoods. [1] In 2011, he became the paper's Writer at Large.

Among other things, Konkol wrote columns and an occasional blog for the Chicago Sun-Times called "Konkol's Korner."

In September 2012, Konkol resigned from the Sun-Times to join DNAinfo.com as the start-up local news website's Writer at Large. In early 2017, he left DNAinfo after four years to pursue other interests, such as television production. [3] DNAinfo folded in November 2017.

In 2014, Konkol narrated CNN's Chicagoland (TV series) documentary series.

He reports for the online hyperlocal news website Patch, which also regularly features his columns. [4]

On February 17, 2018, Konkol was fired as executive editor of The Chicago Reader, an alternative newspaper, 17 days into his tenure. Konkol was described by staffers as "a bully and a tyrant" who berated staff in meetings. His firing was the result of his decision to publish an issue with a cover depicting racist cartoon depicting Governor J.B. Pritzker sitting on a Black lawn jockey. [5]

In November 2021, Konkol reported that the Chicago Bears were to fire head coach Matt Nagy on Thanksgiving day. The supposed scoop turned out to be false. [6]

Pulitzer Prize

On April 18, 2011, Konkol, crime reporter Frank Main and photographer John J. Kim won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for “their immersive documentation of violence in Chicago neighborhoods, probing the lives of victims, criminals and detectives as a widespread code of silence impedes solutions.”' [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Chicago Tribune</i> Major American newspaper, founded 1847

The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", it remains the most-read daily newspaper in the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. In 2022, it had the seventh-highest circulation of any American newspaper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Royko</span> American newspaper columnist

Michael Royko Jr. was an American newspaper columnist from Chicago. Over his 30-year career, he wrote over 7,500 daily columns for the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Chicago Tribune. A humorist who focused on life in Chicago, he was the winner of the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

The Chicago American was an afternoon newspaper published in Chicago, under various names until its dissolution in 1975.

<i>Chicago Sun-Times</i> Daily newspaper in Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Sun-Times is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the Chicago Tribune. The modern paper grew out of the 1948 merger of the Chicago Sun and the Chicago Daily Times. Journalists at the paper have received eight Pulitzer Prizes, mostly in the 1970s; one recipient was film critic Roger Ebert (1975), who worked at the paper from 1967 until his death in 2013. Long owned by the Marshall Field family, since the 1980s ownership of the paper has changed hands numerous times, including twice in the late 2010s.

<i>Los Angeles Times</i> American daily newspaper covering the Greater Los Angeles area

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the Los Angeles County city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States, as well as the largest newspaper in the western United States. Owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by the Times Mirror Company, the paper has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medill School of Journalism</span> Constituent school of Northwestern University

The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the United States. Medill alumni include 40 Pulitzer Prize laureates, numerous national correspondents for major networks, many well-known reporters, columnists and media executives.

The Daily Southtown is a newspaper of the Chicago, Illinois, United States metropolitan area that covers the south suburbs and the South Side neighborhoods of the city – a wide region known as the Chicago Southland. Its popular slogan is "People Up North Just Don't Get It". It is published by the Chicago Tribune Media Group.

<i>Chicago Reader</i> Alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago

The Chicago Reader, or Reader, is an American nonprofit alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a group of friends from Carleton College.

Neil Steinberg is an American news columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and an author. He joined the paper's staff in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Hanania</span> Palestinian-American journalist and comedian

Ray Hanania is an American journalist, editor, public relations expert, reporter, and stand-up comedian of Palestinian descent. After the September 11 attacks, he created the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour and Comedy for Peace, which brought together Israeli and Palestinian comedians. He founded his own public relations firm, called Urban Strategies Group.

Zay N. Smith was a columnist and author known for his work at the Chicago Sun-Times. He wrote a popular column from 1995 to 2008 called QT, which was a mixture of humor and comment.

Edwin Eisendrath is former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times and former alderman of the 43rd ward of Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Morgenstern</span> American film critic

Joe Morgenstern is an American writer and retired film critic. He wrote for Newsweek from 1965 to 1983, and then for The Wall Street Journal from 1995 to 2022. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2005. Morgenstern has also written for television.

Mike Downey is a retired American newspaper columnist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lerner Newspapers</span> Chain of weekly newspapers in Chicago

Lerner Newspapers was a chain of weekly newspapers. Founded by Leo Lerner, the chain was a force in community journalism in Chicago from 1926 to 2005, and called itself "the world's largest newspaper group".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Leonhardt</span> American journalist and columnist (born 1973)

David Leonhardt is an American journalist and columnist. Since April 30, 2020, he has written the daily "The Morning" newsletter for The New York Times. He also contributes to the paper's Sunday Review section. His column previously appeared weekly in The New York Times. He previously wrote the paper's daily e-mail newsletter, which bore his own name. As of October 2018, he also co-hosted "The Argument", a weekly opinion podcast with Ross Douthat and Michelle Goldberg.

Frank Main is a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter from Chicago, Illinois.

Paul Vitello is an American journalist who has written for a variety of publications. He wrote an award-winning news column for Newsday from 1982 to 2005. He went on to write for the religion and obituary sections for The New York Times and has taught at Stony Brook University's School of Journalism.

Edward Joseph Mowery was an award-winning American journalist.

Lois Jean Wille was a Chicago-based journalist, editor, and author. She won her first of two Pulitzer Prizes in 1963 for a series on local government's failure to provide contraceptive information and services to low-income women. Her stories led to a number of important policy changes in women's healthcare, public housing, and the juvenile court systems.

References

  1. 1 2 3 College News - College of Arts and Sciences - Western Illinois University
  2. ↑ WIU graduate Konkol wins Pulitzer Prize - News - Journal Star - Peoria, IL
  3. ↑ "Mark Konkol named Chicago Reader executive editor - Robert Feder".
  4. ↑ "Patch User Profile for Mark Konkol".
  5. ↑ "The Chicago Reader's 'African-American thing'".
  6. ↑ "Was Mark Konkol lied to, or did the Bears change their plans?". November 26, 2021.
  7. ↑ "2011 Pulitzer Prizes" . Retrieved July 27, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.