Bob Greene

Bob Greene (born March 10, 1947) is an American journalist, best known as an award-winning columnist for the Chicago Tribune newspaper for 24 years. He is also the author of books on subjects varying from Michael Jordan to small towns to U.S. presidents.

Related Topics:
March 10 - 1947 - American - Journalist - Columnist - Chicago Tribune - Author - Michael Jordan - U.S. presidents

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Greene attracted national attention when he was forced to resign in September, 2002, after a sex scandal. He admitted having sex several years earlier with a then teen-aged girl, a high school student who visited Greene for a school project that Greene subsequently used as the subject of a column. The incident attracted considerable attention partly because Greene had made a name for himself as a crusader on behalf of abused children and as an advocate of family values, notably in his best-selling book Good Morning, Merry Sunshine: A Father's Journal of His Child's First Year. (It should be noted, however, that the woman Greene had a sexual encounter with was of age at the time.)

Related Topics:
September - 2002 - Sex scandal - Sex - High school

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Originally from Bexley, Ohio (a suburb of Columbus), Greene attended Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois and became a reporter and feature writer for the Chicago Sun-Times upon graduating in 1969; within two years he had a regular column in the paper and in late 1971 a collection of his writing was published in book form. Greene first drew significant national attention with his book, Billion Dollar Baby (1975), a diary of his experiences as a roadie for rock musician Alice Cooper, which was later parodied by comics writer Steve Gerber as part of the background of the villain Dr. Bong in the 1970s Marvel comic Howard the Duck. Greene's primary focus remained his newspaper column, for which he won the National Headliner's Award for best column in 1977 from an American journalism group. Shortly afterward, Greene switched to the competing Chicago Tribune. Greene also began making occasional guest appearances on local television, eventually landing a commentary slot on the ABC news program Nightline.

Related Topics:
Bexley, Ohio - Columbus - Northwestern University - Chicago, Illinois - Chicago Sun-Times - Roadie - Rock - Alice Cooper - Steve Gerber - Dr. Bong - Marvel - Howard the Duck - National Headliner's Award - ABC - Nightline

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the 1990s Greene spent time covering Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls basketball team. The two formed an unlikely friendship which Greene documented in two popular books.

Related Topics:
Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls - Basketball

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Greene was extremely popular as a writer but he had his critics, largely because of what critics saw as excessive sentimentality and often heavy writing. A Chicago alternative weekly newspaper ran a column called Bob Watch: We Read Him So You Don't Have To, which made fun of his work.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~