Feder: John Kass apologizes for media 'doing just fine' comment

John Kass, the Chicago Tribune's most prominent columnist, says he knows he raised the ire of media colleagues with what they viewed as an attack on their beleaguered profession. And now he's sorry for that.

"Unlike the tens of millions of Americans who have lost their jobs, America's cultural elites, in politics, government and media, are doing just fine during the coronavirus shutdown," Kass wrote in his Thursday column headlined: "Just think about the guy in line at the food pantry."

A chorus of journalists - including some from his own newspaper - took Kass to task on social media for saying they're "doing just fine" only days after Tribune Publishing announced another wave of companywide furloughs, salary reductions and staff cutbacks.

Kass acknowledged that his phrasing of "media elites" had angered colleagues.

"I am truly sorry I was not clear," he told me in an email. "I was referring to myself as a columnist who has the luxury of working from home, and to the TV talking heads, politicians and bureaucrats.

See a sampling of the criticism and more at robertfeder.com.