http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/us/how-baseball-and-journalism-made-los-angeles-and-chicago-rivals.html 2016-10-17 04:26:54 How Baseball and Journalism Made Los Angeles and Chicago Rivals With the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers playing for the National League championship, newspapers in the two cities kicked off a skirmish. But did they go too far? === Correspondents for The New York Times in Los Angeles and Chicago discuss how baseball and journalism have combined to bring out a rivalry between the two cities. Contributing to this conversation were Adam Nagourney, the Los Angeles bureau chief; Monica Davey, the Chicago bureau chief; Jennifer Medina, a Los Angeles correspondent; and Mitch Smith, a Chicago correspondent. NAGOURNEY As with most great city feuds, this one started with sports. And it was played out (at least until Twitter inevitably took over) in the columns of two newspapers. Except in this case, the two newspapers — The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune — are owned by the same company. “It’s Cubs vs. L.A., city of smog and failure,” said the It wasn’t long before It got even fiercer when The Times promoted his column in a tweet. “Hey, @chicagotribune: Fewer than 15 murders that day — slow news day?” Yikes. After Twitter backlash from Chicagoans who find no humor in the more than 530 murders that have rocked the city this year, O.K., a few thoughts here. First, big-city feuds carried by newspaper columnists are hardly new. But what struck me — as a veteran of the great tabloid newspapers wars in New York City — was that the attacks on both sides seemed a little obvious. I mean, smog in Los Angeles? Corruption in Chicago? Stop the presses, or whatever it is we say these days. DAVEY NAGOURNEY: We have made a point in covering Los Angeles, as I know you have in Chicago, not to sort of resort to the kind of facile cliché stereotypes of Southern California that are so easy to do (celebrity, empty-headedness, smog). The Trib column indulged a bit I that. I should point out two things: One is that smog, while still a problem, is much less of a problem than it was 20 years ago, when I first started coming here. The other is that this line struck me as just odd: that Los Angeles is “known widely today as ‘The Birthplace of Cocaine.’” I bet there are a bunch of people in New York City who would dispute that. DAVEY Let’s face it: It was just plainly insensitive to all the Chicago families who have lost people. It is hard to fathom anyone chuckling about it. That said, in the same way you talk about the smog and the drugs, I’d argue that some of the other stereotypes about Chicago felt ancient and off base too. Who is still laughing about the “ You know, it’s tough to pick on Chicago and leave any marks. We get picked on a lot. We’re used to it. The whole “Second City” thing is just in the water. I guess I’d hope for more creativity from such a creative place as L.A. NAGOURNEY I have spent many years here enduring arguments of Los Angeles versus New York, and Los Angeles versus San Francisco. I get civic pride. I applaud civic pride; I think it’s great. I think Los Angeles is a great city. And I think Chicago is a great city. (Well, at least for four months a year). And few things can inspire civic pride the way a sports championship can. You can sense the excitement here in Los Angeles now, and I bet you can feel it in Chicago as well. Oh, and one other point I’d make about Jimmy Breslin and the New York tabloid columnist culture: They wouldn’t have hesitated a second in calling out the Chicago murder rate, and no way they would have walked away from it. MEDINA SMITH MEDINA: The city had had its fair share of challenges with riots and murders, but now feels decidedly optimistic in many corners. It’s still known for car culture, but I’m currently walking through the streets of downtown as a part of CicLAvia, a near quarterly event that shuts down city streets for people to experience the roads on bicycles (and roller skates, skateboards and strollers.) This weekend the event snakes through several cultural centers: Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Arts District and Boyle Heights. The festival-like atmosphere directly confronts the notion that the city doesn’t have civically engaged residents. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the place, not far from the pueblo where L.A. was first christened. The Dodgers are just another way of celebrating that pride right now. Much more fun than artisanal smoothies. SMITH DAVEY This is a city that has waited a long time. Not just for the Cubs but also for respect from the coasts. Chicago is overdue its deserved recognition for its remarkable architecture, its generosity of spirit, its amazing lakefront, its live theater, its love of politics (which may even transcend its love of sports). And I’m totally with you on feeling some broad joy in the dueling columnists. That alone also feels like a call back to some earlier time — a time when a city’s newspaper columnist spoke for a city. I, for one, love that. For Chicago and also for newspapers. Perhaps it wasn’t strange then that I found Rex Huppke’s piece lighthearted and funny. NAGOURNEY May I suggest that we steal Lopez’s kicker to conclude our conversation, since it seems to capture a lot of what we are talking about? “In conclusion, please refrain from criticizing Los Angeles, its people and everything it stands for. “It’s what I do for a living, and I don’t need the competition. “Go, Dodgers.” DAVEY