Jim Babb was old-school, in the best sense

At the memorial service for Jim Babb today, there will be a collection of newspaper clippings about 40 years old. They include his work on "Empire," the Anchorage Daily News series about the Teamsters Union local that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1976.

Babb was one of the reporters on that series, with Howard Weaver and Bob Porterfield. The Pulitzer put the Daily News on the map; look at the photo and see a touch of Woodward and Bernstein, brio in the trio. They earned it, because while the series didn't bring down a presidency or even a union or its leaders, the reporters who worked on it dared to challenge and cast light on what was then arguably the state's most powerful and intimidating institution, one that few wanted to cross or question. They questioned, and didn't buckle to push-back.

That series set a high standard for Alaska journalism.

[OBITUARY: James D. Babb Jr.]

Jim Babb was an old-school reporter, a digger who armed himself with information before he starting asking questions. That made his questions more intelligent and his spin detector sharp.

I met Jim Babb briefly for the first time when I opened the back door to the old Anchorage Times to him on a cold morning in the mid-70s. I was working the pre-dawn wire-copy sorting shift. He came in to pick up a paper just off the press (the Times printed the Daily News in those days) because he was worried about the fairness of a story. I remember the morning for his care about the story, and though we exchanged few words I had the impression of someone who wasn't able to sleep until he was satisfied the story was right.

The moment of Pulitzer triumph was also the moment when he knew he couldn't afford to stay in the newspaper business. As Babb told the story to me, his wife Bonny Lynn and daughter Caitlin arrived in the celebrating newsroom and he shouted "We won the Pulitzer!"

"I can top that," Bonny Lynn said. "I'm pregnant."

Thirteen grand a year wasn't going to support a growing family, even in the Anchorage of 1976.

I next met Jim Babb about 10 years later when I was looking for a lawyer. That's when he told me why he didn't stay in the newspaper business and took up the law. But he was still engaged; he couldn't turn off the reporter and editor. He seemed to look at the world in a way that suited both journalism and the law — jaundiced, but honeyed with affection for his fellows. His skeptical view of the world came with a smile. A conversation with Jim was often a tonic that would either bring you down to earth or raise you up to the surface.

Like many Alaskans, Jim Babb came north with the intent to stay for a few years and then move on. Instead, he lived a long, rich life here. He even made the list of tried and true Alaskans in Nan Elliot's lovingly done 1989 book, "I'd Swap My Old Skidoo For You."

I ran into him several times over the years, and was struck by his currency with the business he left. He had his great stories to tell, but more often he talked about stories happening now. He wasn't shy about criticizing, but neither did he hesitate to praise good work. He was old school, but no dinosaur.

In the last few years, well into his 70s, he got back in the game. He wrote commentaries for these pages that were tough and fair.

I can't testify to Jim Babb as those who knew him better can. But I can say that I was always glad to see him or hear his voice on the phone. His memorial service is at 4 p.m. Thursday at Holy Family Cathedral in downtown Anchorage. He's an Alaskan to remember.

Frank Gerjevic is the opinion pages editor for Alaska Dispatch News.

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