[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 25, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E404-E405]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF CHRISTOPHER ``CB'' BOBBY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TIM RYAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 25, 2015

  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, this past week, the people of the 
Mahoning Valley suffered a great loss with the passing of former 
Tribune Chronicle reporter Christopher ``CB'' Bobby. CB covered the 
Trumbull County Courthouse for decades and was known in the area for 
being fair, honest, and compassionate. Mr. Bobby truly cared for the 
people in his stories and wrote for the purpose of informing the public 
of the important issues affecting the daily lives of citizens.
   Brenda Linert, the editor of the Tribune Chronicle, wrote a brief 
story about her endearment for Chris; and I believe her sentiments 
express perfectly the gratitude that the people of Warren, Ohio and the 
Mahoning Valley have for Chris and his dedication to the people and 
their stories.

                  Honoring Memories of Newsroom Legend

                           (By Brenda Linert)

       We buried our friend this week. If you are a regular 
     reader, no doubt you know by now that we, at the Tribune 
     Chronicle, are mourning the unexpected death of Christopher 
     ``CB'' Bobby, the veteran Tribune Chronicle reporter who for 
     decades has covered news originating in the Trumbull County 
     Courthouse. CB had an air about him that made people love him 
     as a person and as a friend. As a journalist, CB was an old-
     school newsman.
        Those who sat near him in the ``Bobby Acres'' section of 
     the newsroom (Chris, of course, was the mayor) can attest to 
     the fact that CB grumbled a lot, often about new demands of 
     the newspaper industry that he had become a part of 41 years 
     ago. Chris would begrudgingly complete extra assignments, 
     like those for special sections, referring to them as his 
     ``term papers''.
        I don't believe his rants and frustrations ever came 
     because CB disliked work. It was, rather, because he disliked 
     work that took him away from what he felt was really 
     important--telling his readers the stories that needed to be 
     told. He knew the stories of court cases were come not by 
     just quickly pulling filings off electronic court dockets or 
     trolling social media, as many young reporters do today. 
     Chris would tell you that's not the way to find stories about 
     people. And he tried his best to share that skill without 
     ever belittling or condescending.
        Throughout the decades, CB took an untold number of fresh-
     faced young reporters (myself included some 20 years ago) to 
     the courthouse to teach them his secrets of covering a trial. 
     In every instance, including mine, the cub reporter would 
     enter the courtroom, slide into a pew beside CB and proceed 
     to bury his or her face in a reporter notebook, scrawling 
     away, never taking a moment to look up or even breathe.
        And just like the day CB took me to court. He would shake 
     his head, lean over and whisper something like, ``What the 
     heck are you doing? Put down the notebook and listen.'' With 
     reluctance, I followed his instructions, fearing he was wrong 
     and I'd miss something incredibly important. Each time I'd 
     try to ease the notebook back into my hand, he'd shake his 
     head disapprovingly. He knew, you see, the importance of 
     simply listening and watching and understanding. That's how a 
     good journalist is able to tell a story.
        When CB told his stories they were about the people. He 
     told them with authority,

[[Page E405]]

     apolitically and unapologetically. David Addis, a former Trib 
     reporter who worked with CB in the late 1970s, last week 
     described him like this: ``Even then, Chris' strongest point 
     was that he simply cared about the story, and the people 
     behind the story. He was the most apolitical reporter I ever 
     worked with--he didn't give a tinker's damn about the office 
     politics, city politics or any higher sphere of politics. 
     It's probably why people came to trust him. He was honest, 
     considerate, compassionate and simply wanted to get it 
     right.''
        That was true until the end. As former Trib reporter Mike 
     Scott put it, ``CB was the heart and soul of the Tribune 
     Chronicle for decades . . . and a great reporter and mentor 
     for generations of reporters.'' What may be most 
     disheartening is to consider all the new, young reporters 
     that will join us going forward who never will have the 
     benefit of working with CB. Sure, we will publish a newspaper 
     every day. We will move forward, because we must. But it 
     won't be easy, and this newsroom will never be the same. Rest 
     in peace, my friend.

                          ____________________