An Offer She Couldn’t Refuse
Seven names made that list. And all seven of them, it turned out, were willing to come in and talk whether they’d applied or not. That was even more encouraging. The other day, the position was given to someone who hadn’t asked for it. “I’m leaving a great job I love that I had no intention of leaving,” said Laura Washington, “because I’m getting a job offer I couldn’t refuse.”
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We aren’t sure where any such newspaper would find “a lot of resources,” and neither is she. “Is there money out there anymore for journalism, especially print journalism?” she mused. “Daily newspapers continue to die. I think this would be a unique kind of publication,” she went on hopefully. “There’d be a need, and I think there’d be an advertising base. I don’t know if there’s money for it, but you could make an argument.
“When that money becomes available, I want to be the person to take charge of it.”
We asked Larson about that. “I want it to become what it has always been,” he said dexterously, “but even more so. Tough investigative reporting that no one else is doing.”
She had a word of wisdom for the pressroom. “A lot of reporters feel if they act as obnoxious and aggressive as they can be, it’ll help,” said Washington. “It does help to be aggressive. It never, ever helps to be obnoxious.”
While in boxes on other corners could be found the Southtown Economist, the Daily Herald, Investor’s Daily, Discovery Center, the bilingual Extra, Ad Paper, Skyline, Outlines, Windy City Times, the Financial Times of London . . .
