Paul Zimbrakos, longtime City News Bureau editor who trained generations of journalists, dies at 86

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Paul Zimbrakos, a legendary editor at the City News Bureau who taught generations of young journalists hands-on in Chicago, died Tuesday at the age of 86.

Zimbrakos joined City News in January 1958, and was still at the helm as the bureau chief when the renowned wire service finally closed on the last day of 2005. Legions of reporters who passed through City News over the years remember Zimbrakos for his attention to detail, his wisdom and knowledge, and the guidance he provided in a role that many would describe as more a teacher than a boss.

Zimbrakos was the son of immigrants from the Greek island of Crete, and a graduate of Austin High School and Roosevelt University. As noted in a mini-biography for his 2005 lifetime achievement award from the Chicago Headline Club, Zimbrakos first came to City News as a reporter – but was called away within a year to serve in the U.S. Army. He often told the story of going through basic training in the Army alongside Elvis Presley.

Zimbrakos returned to City News in 1961, rising through the ranks to become the managing editor of the wire service. Founded in 1890, City News provided 24/7 coverage of the police beat in Chicago, as well as coverage of City Hall, the Cook County Building, federal court, and Cook County civil and criminal court for the city's major newspapers and radio and television stations.

When Zimbrakos began his run at City News, wire dispatches were sent through the city through pneumatic tubes that ran under downtown streets to Chicago newspaper offices. These later gave way to teletype machines, and finally an internet-based system.

The legendary motto of City News was, "If your mother says she loves you, check it out" – and they meant it literally. As Zimbrakos told the Associated Press in a 2005 story, a reporter who turned in a story about a child who had swallowed a Christmas ornament was sent back to a rewrite, "asking him to find out what color the ornament was."

Zimbrakos himself would be quick to remind reporters about the importance of every detail, from what a criminal defendant was wearing in bond court to the distinction between cement and concrete. 

A 2005 New York Times article by City News alum Monica Davey documented Zimbrakos in action as an editor.

"A reporter called in. Mr. Zimbrakos, as always, had a polite question or two. Why had the reporter used the nickname, not the formal first name, of the mayor's press secretary in an article? What should the article actually have said?" Davey wrote.

Zimbrakos was always tough, but always encouraging – and proud to tell new recruits that a stint at City News would prepare them for a career in the news anywhere in the world.

Never one to shout at his reporters, Zimbrakos could still easily show his disappointment with his staff with a simple quirk of his scruffy eyebrows or a twitch of his signature mustache. His "attaboy" or "attagirl" praise for exceptional work was rare, but no less cherished by the cub reporters he took under his wing.

Mike Royko, Seymour Hirsh, and Kurt Vonnegut were among those who got their start at City News. Longtime CBS 2 anchorman and commentator Walter Jacobson, investigative reporter Pam Zekman, and political producer Ed Marshall are also alumni – as are the authors of this story, CBS Chicago web producers Todd Feurer and Adam Harrington.

While City News was known as a training ground which young reporters were expected to use as a stepping stone to other jobs, Zimbrakos stayed on – mostly, according to his Headline Club bio, because he enjoyed teaching young people.

The original City News Bureau closed in 1999 after the Chicago Sun-Times pulled out of a joint ownership agreement, but was reorganized as the City News Service under Chicago Tribune control. Zimbrakos remained at the helm as bureau chief from an office off the Tribune newsroom until the Tribune closed City News in 2005.

After City News closed, Zimbrakos taught a City News Bureau course at Loyola University.

Zimbrakos, a longtime River Forest resident, was preceded in death by his wife, Eleni. He is survived by sons Vasily and Kostas, daughter Marianthe, and four grandchildren.