“Reading a Book is Like Life:
You Live it One Page at a Time.” (Ron Yates)
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About Ronald E. Yates
Author, former foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, and Dean & Professor Emeritus of the College of Media at the University of Illinois, his acclaimed works are now available through this site.
The Latest From My Blog
An Old Letter from El Salvador
Between 1978 and 1982, I spent a lot of time as a Chicago Tribune foreign correspondent in Central American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, and Nicaragua — all of which were experiencing vicious uprisings and revolutions. From time to time, I post one of the stories I wrote …
America is Squandering its Common Sense
One day, perhaps 50 years from now, historians will look back on the years between 2020 and 2025 and conclude that America chose to abandon common sense and established fact despite significant advances in artificial intelligence, science, medicine, and technology. They will marvel at AI advancements, including the rapid scaling …
“The Greatest” Gets a New Postage Stamp & I Share My Favorite Muhammad Ali Story
The new Muhammad Ali postage stamp is now available, issued by the United States Postal Service. It is a commemorative Forever Stamp honoring the boxing legend and humanitarian, putting his image into circulation nationwide. Twenty-two million stamps are being printed, each featuring Ali in his fighting prime. In the black-and-white photo …
Minnesota & Minneapolis Declare War on America
Not since slave-loving Democrats provoked the succession of Southern states from the Union have Democrats demonstrated such hatred for America, but that is exactly what is happening today in Minnesota and Minneapolis. Led by Gov. “Tampon” Tim Walz and Boy Toy Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota and Minneapolis are now havens …
Minnesota Fats, Somali Fraud, and America’s Dishonest Media
In 1961, an Oscar-nominated film, “The Hustler,” starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, told the story of two pool hustlers out to beat the system and each other. At one point in the film, “Fast” Edie Felson (Newman) and Minnesota Fats (Gleason) engage in a marathon game of “straight pool …
Is the Age of the Printed Book on the Brink of Demise?
During a discussion in a journalism class I was teaching at the University of Illinois a few years ago, I posited the following question: What do you think has been the greatest, most impactful invention in the world during the past 1,000 years? The answers, as you might expect, were …
Today’s Democrats and Their Baffling Empathy for Drug Cartels & Criminal Aliens
If today’s Congressional Democrats were around on Dec. 7, 1941, I wonder if they would have voted against declaring war on Imperial Japan—the nation that attacked the American Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2,403 Americans. Does that sound like an outrageous question? At first glance, yes, it does. …
A Little Trivia about the National Holiday we call Thanksgiving
The following is a compilation of Thanksgiving trivia from The Old Farmer’s Almanac & the Indianapolis Star. My thanks to both of these fine publications. It’s Thanksgiving Day, and millions of Americans will celebrate by tucking in for a big meal with friends and family, by watching football games, and maybe …
A Piñata of Miscellanea. Go On, Take a Swing!
“And now for something completely different,” as they used to say on the old Monty Python show. Every week, I receive heaps of emails containing bits of wisdom, humor, anonymous information, and lots of weirdness. Usually, I give these things a quick read and delete them. Today, however, I thought …
Confessions and Apologies from a Regular Guy
I used to think I was just a regular guy, going about my life, as President Lincoln once said: “with malice toward none and charity for all.” Boy, was I wrong. Just take a look: I was born a white male, which means, whether I like it or not, I …
Two Contrasting Views of American Journalism
Journalism has been my life. For almost 30 years, I worked as a reporter and foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. Later, I taught the art and craft of journalism as a professor and dean of the College of Media at the University of Illinois. I share those bona fides …
Is Nancy Pelosi the Lucrezia Borgia of Congress?
Historical myths say that Lucrezia Borgia was a seductive poisoner who carried a hollow ring filled with venom, hosted orgiastic banquets, and eliminated lovers and rivals at will—an archetypal 16th-century Renaissance “femme fatale.” As Duchess of Ferrara, Lucrezia exercised a lot of agency: she managed a sophisticated court, patronized artists …
