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Editorials, op-eds, and other writings by a memorable newspaperman.
The winner of more awards than any editorial writer in the Albany Times Union's history, Jim McGrath was both an Albany institution and a keen observer of the world beyond his beloved adopted city. When he died in 2013 at the age of fifty-six, the newspaper lost a writer who combined a passionate advocacy for society's most vulnerable people with a scathing disregard for the elite whose actions created an underclass in the United States. His writing was often elegiac, but his take on his adopted home state of New York and his beloved Albany was variously bemused, witty, irreverent, and indignant. He could relate to the plight of the minimum-wage worker as easily as he could talk to a US senator, and he feared no one. His editorials and commentaries charted many of the most critical issues in New York and the country: the death penalty, civil liberties, gay rights, historic presidential campaigns, the economy, terrorism, and more-all with an incisiveness that remains relevant, if not more so, in the present political era.
In addition to his editorials and op-eds, I'll Be Home contains essays, critiques, and other writings that have never before been published, as well as appraisals of his work and life by former colleagues Rex Smith, Fred LeBrun, Dan Lynch, and others. The book is both a tribute to a memorable newspaperman and an insider's perspective on politics and life through the lens of an editorial writer, a position that Jim described as "a great seat at a really weird show."
"McGrath's body of work reveals thematic threads, consistent styling, and a fixed set of principles that his faithful daily readers likely would not have focused on or even discerned. That makes his book an instructive text for beginners trying to figure out the tricks of persuasive editorial writing. How McGrath did it comes clear here." — Literary Journalism Studies
"…I found his new book both inspiring and daunting. Read it and it's clear Jim set an impossibly high standard for those of us who continue in the profession he so loved. I hope our work, and my work, honors his." — Chris Churchill, Albany Times Union
"Jim McGrath's voice is one, at heart, of place—of the Albany he adopted as his own, of the Boston neighborhood where he grew up—but it is also much more than that. It is a great American voice, lyrical, penetrating, and unfailingly original, and it was silenced too soon. But it is so good to hear it again in this beautiful book." — Michael Larabee, Op-ed Editor, The Washington Post
"Jim McGrath was a great American voice, a no-nonsense journalist who wrote eloquently about intolerance, injustice, poverty, and corruption. He wasn't afraid to tell the truth, and he did so masterfully. His work is inspiring, witty, profound, and kindhearted. No wonder so many held him in high esteem—even those he skewered." — Sam Roe, Chicago Tribune
"For me, Albany has always been home, and it was the great honor and privilege of my life to have been its mayor for twenty years. For Jim, Albany, became his adopted home, a place he loved and cared for as passionately as I did and that mutual love for this place was the bond we shared. Even when we disagreed, we respected each other's commitment to our community and to its residents who relied on us in different, but equally important ways. And whether it was across the table at an editorial board meeting, or sharing a beverage at McGeary's, Jim was never hesitant to speak truth to power. His writings, many of which I took issue with, always reflected his commitment to honesty, accuracy, and fairness. That commitment made Albany a better city and without question it made me a better mayor. This book bears witness to Jim's legacy and to the impact he had on our community and on so many lives. It also serves as a testament to the vital role a great journalist plays in the vibrancy of our democratic process. The lessons to be learned here could not come at a better time. For all that we are in his debt." — Jerry Jennings, Mayor of Albany, 1994–2013
"Jim's arguments were thoughtful and his writing was elegant. But what stands out most in this collection are his passion and his humanity. His passion for journalism. His passion for fairness. His passion for truth. He railed against injustice. He scoffed at heavy-handed politics. He spoke out on behalf of those who couldn't speak for themselves. Even in print, you could see his arms waving in outrage as he called upon society to rectify another of its shortcomings." — Benjamin Weller, Newsday
Foreword: When the Newspaper Needed to Speak from Its Soul
Rex Smith
Introduction
Howard Healy
ALBANY
Introduction: The City That Jim Embraced
Howard Healy
The Race Is On in Albany, January 16, 1997
A Sad Note on Lark Street, February 19, 1997
Slayings Tarnish Soil of Albany’s Great Park, December 26, 1997
Drop This Case, April 27, 1998
Come Clean, Mr. Jennings, July 10, 1998
... A Defeat for the Machine, September 17, 1998
Albany’s Hot-Dog Politics, April 5, 1999
Justice for Ms. McEneny, May 7, 1999
Time to Right a Wrong: President Bush Should Award the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Henry Johnson, April 24, 2001
Renewing Democracy Is Humbling, September 28, 2001
Jennings, Who Else? November 4, 2001
Outsiders Defy Odds in Albany, November 10, 2001
Whose City Is It? May 10, 2002
Albany’s Anguish, January 3, 2004
It’s All about the Guns, June 18, 2008
Audit the Ghosts, January 20, 2009
Jerry Jennings’s Fifth Term, Fall 2009
Memories of Larks at a Tavern, May 6, 2011
POLITICS Introduction: Jim McGrath Loved Politics
Howard Healy
LOCAL Preaching to the Faithful, March 17, 1995
All Eyes on Albany, December 22, 1999
Uneasy Justice, December 29, 2003 NEW YORK
A Voting Outrage, May 19, 2001
Voter Beware, November 8, 2005
Transcript of As It Happens Interview on Eliot Spitzer’s Resignation, March 12, 2008
It’s Senator Clinton, November 8, 2000 NATIONAL
Farewell, Mister Speaker, January 9, 1994
Some Names Worth Hearing Once Again, November 16, 2002
INTERNATIONAL
A Chance for Peace in Ulster, May 22, 1997
Mr. Adams and Mr. Blair, December 20, 1997
Ireland’s Peace Must Prevail, August 20, 1998
George Mitchell, Peacemaker, October 22, 1998
Day of Terror, September 12, 2001
The Day After, September 13, 2001
Rising from the Ruins One Year Later, A Pause to Ponder How We Have Changed, September 11, 2002
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Introduction: A Certain Faith in Humanity
Bill Federman
More Unabomber Injustice, May 18, 1997
Cold Weather, Cold Truths, September 28, 1997
A Lesson Taught Too Late, July 20, 2001
Homeless in Albany, November 25, 2002
"No Room for Mercy," September 5, 2003
Injustice, February 15, 2006
A Proud Day for New York, June 26, 2011
The World Owes So Much to Mandela, December 7, 2013
JOURNALISM
Introduction: McGrath Thought That Newspapers Ought to Tell the Truth
Dan Lynch
Royko Was the Real People’s Court, May 1, 1997
J. Anthony Lukas, June 10, 1997
Finding Fame in Telling Fibs, July 10, 1998
Mike Barnicle’s Sad Fall from Grace to Disgrace, August 8, 1998
Editorial and Op-Ed Page Critique of the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram, August 1999
Reality Check at Skidmore, November 16, 1999
SPORTS
Introduction: A Red Sox Fan Above All
Phillip Blanchard
Introduction: "Hey, Jim, How Does Yaz Spell His Name?"
Howard Healy
A Spectator’s View from the Seats, July 23, 1995
Stanford’s Band of Cruel Fools, October 15, 1997
Sox Appeal, June 20, 2004
Thanks for the Memories, February 20, 1999
How ’Bout Those Sawx? October 22, 2004
Why Didn’t He Do More? November 10, 2011
I’ll BE HOME
Introduction: A Man at Last at Peace with Himself
Darryl McGrath
Somebody’s Thinking of Charlie McGrath, June 20, 1993
A Road to New Hampshire, December 25, 1994
Soldiering On: Another Generation, Another War, Another Cause to Honor and Remember, May 26, 2002
"Journeys Like Mine Should Never Really End," 2006
"I’ll Be Home": Statement about My Work and My Goals, 2011
A Vanishing Call of the Wild, August 10, 2009
Boston, the Bulgers and Me, August 19, 2013
Small Town’s Appeal Crosses Generations: Cooperstown Sparks Musings of the Past and the Future, August 30, 2013
APPRECIATIONS
Jim McGrath’s Albany
Fred LeBrun
Jim McGrath: A Newspaperman
Robert Whitcomb
APPENDIX
Meet My Not-So-Silent Partner, June 11, 1996
Dan Lynch
Times Union Editorial Writer Appointed, November 7, 1996
Guild Mourns the Loss of Jim McGrath, September 5, 2013
McGrath’s Keen Eye, Passion Recalled: Times Union’s Chief Editorial Writer, 56, Died While Vacationing, September 6, 2013
Steve Barnes
James M. McGrath, 1957–2013, September 8, 2013
Times Union Editorial Board
Obituary, September 12, 2013
Darryl McGrath
Eulogy, September 14, 2013
Darryl McGrath
Remembering Albany’s Voice of Reason, October 4, 2013
Lauren Mineau
Empowered to Do the Right Thing, December 7, 2013
Darryl McGrath
Acknowledgments
Index