City News Bureau Comes Back to Life

Chicago's fabled City News Bureau is being revived as a college course this semester at Loyola University's Water Tower campus.

City News was organized a century ago by several newspaper publishers and closed in 2005. It was known for rigorous training of young reporters, including Mike Royko and Seymour Hersh.

Longtime City Newsman Paul Zimbrakos is leading the Loyola class, along with veteran journalist Jack Smith, a former CNN producer.

Students are concentrating their reporting on Chicago's neighborhoods, including coverage of police, politics and City Hall.

Zimbrakos says the class stresses the strict City News standards on fairness and accuracy, and he notes the bureau's famed old motto was "If your mother says she loves you, check it out.