Chicago Trib biz journalism Niekirk dies at 82

William Neikirk

William Neikirk, a Chicago Tribune correspondent who was based in Washington, D.C., for more than 30 years who was expert at explaining economics and complex financial issues to readers, has died at the age of 82 from dementia and COVID.

Bob Goldsborough of the Tribune writes, “In 1970, Neikirk moved to the AP’s Washington bureau, where he began work as an economics correspondent. The Tribune hired him in 1974 as a national economics writer, and he added duties as a columnist in 1980. He also briefly covered the Carter administration in 1977.

“Neikirk became the Washington bureau’s news editor in 1983. Five years later, he moved to Chicago to become the Tribune’s associate managing editor of financial news.

“After three years in that role, Neikirk returned to the Washington bureau in 1991 as a senior writer. That same year, Clarence Page, now a Tribune columnist, transferred from the paper’s Chicago headquarters to the Washington bureau.

“‘Bill helped me to learn about Washington, and he was a terrific reporter and one with a really broad expertise on how Washington works as well as Wall Street,’ Page said. ‘He also was very generous with his expertise and assistance and at times would step in and help manage bureau affairs.'”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.