Robert Novak: Death of the 'Prince of Darkness'

How longtime conservative columnist Novak left such an indelible mark on journalism

The world of journalism just lost "a giant," said Ed Morrissey in Hot Air. Robert Novak, the longtime Chicago Sun-Times columnist, died Tuesday of a brain tumor at 78, after spending decades "building his credibility as a journalist" and as "an unapologetic warrior" for his conservative beliefs.

"There were things to admire about Robert Novak," said Matthew Cooper in The Atlantic. "But there was a lot in Novak not to like," including his "stiletto pen that seemed more about destroying than illuminating." His politics and "arch, cutting style" were bad enough, but what really made me think less of him was his willingness to serve "as a transmission belt for the malevolent leakers" who tried to trash former Ambassador Joseph Wilson by leaking that his wife, Valerie Plame, was a CIA agent.

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