So without further burying of the lede, here it is: As of today, Chihak is joining the Arizona Daily Starβs lineup of Opinion columnists.
Itβs an honor to welcome Michael to the group of regular columnists, which includes Mort Rosenblum, Heather Mace and Terry Bracy.
Chihak was born at St. Maryβs Hospital, about a mile from our office, and about half a mile from where I talked him into this gig, over lunch at La Chaiteria. Heβs a seventh-generation Southern Arizonan whose ancestors roamed the area as early as the 1770s, probably looking in vain for a place to get lunch as good as the one we had.
Michael earned his bachelorβs degree in journalism from the University of Arizona, then interned at the Tucson Citizen. They were smart enough not to let him get out of the building, and he went to work as a police reporter right after his internship.
He did leave for several years to write for the Associated Press, then returned to the Citizen as a general assignment reporter before being promoted to assistant metro editor. (I remember that period very well because we competed β hard β against each other. I was the city editor of the Star.)
He also worked as business editor before being plucked from the Citizen staff by the then-brand-new USA Today, where he filled a number of key editing roles for almost a decade before his company chose him to be the executive editor of the Salinas Californian. He went on to be its president and publisher.
Then he came home first as executive editor of the Citizen, and then editor and publisher. For eight years, he oversaw the Citizenβs news and business operations.
After the Citizen went the way of too many afternoon newspapers, Michael would also work as producer and host of Arizona Week for Arizona Public Media, then as news director for AZPM.
Along that entire impressive path, Michael consistently earned the respect of journalists, business and civic leaders, and readers.
Michael now chairs the University of Arizona School of Journalism Advisory Council (Iβm proud to serve on the council with him.)
He knows Tucson and the issues we face here as well as anyone does. Today, he writes from the perspective of a retired Tucsonan. Heβs been a frequent Guest Opinion contributor, but I wanted to get his relationship with the Star on a more formal basis. Of course, as an Opinion columnist, heβs free to write precisely what he thinks, and I believe he expresses those thoughts exceedingly well.
Heβll be writing on alternate Sundays, trading off with his fellow UA alum, Rosenblum.
Elsewhere on this page is his first column. Please join me in welcoming him and his column to the pages of the Star.
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