Time’s choice. The magazine’s Person of the Year: “The Guardians”—journalists killed and imprisoned in “the war on truth.”
■ New research in The Public Library of Science explains why journalists should work harder to defend their profession against charges of bias and do more fact-checking.
■ An ex-Bloomberg reporter: “Michael Bloomberg still doesn’t seem to understand how journalism works.”
Singing a different tune. Teachers at Chicago’s venerable Old Town School of Folk Music were planning a rally today for their efforts to unionize.
■ Speaking of venerable: Rogers Park’s Heartland Cafe closes New Year’s Eve, ending a 42-year run.
A mysterious knock. The Sun-Times reports that, about 90 minutes before the FBI raided the offices of powerful Chicago Ald. Ed Burke on a still-unexplained mission, agents visited the home of his top political aide.
■ In Burke’s first committee meeting since the raid, he shut down a vote to reform the city’s habit of handing out taxpayer money to big developers …
■ … including the company pushing the massive Lincoln Yards project along the Chicago River between North and Fullerton.
■ Chicago’s retiring City Treasurer Kurt Summers—who owes that job to Mayor Emanuel—took to Twitter yesterday to condemn the mayor.
Chicago’s close-up. The next project from filmmaker Steve James—who discussed his series America to Me on a Square podcast a few weeks ago—is “a film I’ve wanted to do for years, and right now seems the perfect time to make it”: A documentary on Chicago and the current race for mayor.
■ The Reader’s Ben Joravsky predicts no more than 10 of the 21 mayoral candidates will survive the city’s Thunderdome challenge process for petitions.
■ An aldermanic campaign volunteer was shot while live-streaming himself going door-to-door.
‘So many Americans don’t want this job, Trump might have to let a Mexican do it.’ On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah mocked the president’s struggle to find a chief of staff …
■ … but Stephen Colbert says he’ll take the job.
■ An editorial cartoon from Joe Fournier envisions departing chief of staff John Kelly’s perspective.
■ The Onion: “White House Ficus To Leave For Virginia Arboretum After Declining Trump’s Offer To Be Chief Of Staff.”
■ Updating coverage of the president’s quest.
■ In an open letter, a bipartisan group of 44 former U.S. senators warns Congress the nation is “entering a dangerous period.”
Nice job, humans. A new study concludes that, over the course of just 200 years, humans have reversed a 50-million-year climate trend.
■ NASA hopes to persuade Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsperson of the Year,” Steph Curry, that the moon landing was real.
Google’s conservative romance. Wired reports on leaked audio that spotlights the company’s efforts to woo the right.
■ Google’s YouTube has banned Nazi fanboy favorite—and founder of Vice and the Proud Boys—Gavin McInnes.
■ Updating coverage: Google’s CEO makes his debut before Congress today. (CNN video here.)
■ The Federal Trade Commission’s Trump-appointed top consumer-protection official has so many corporate conflicts, he “can’t even be in the room when Equifax or American Airlines or even Disney are discussed.”
Thanks. For inspiration this issue, Square is in Jim Polaski’s debt.