A news identity

By: Joe Strupp Jimmy Breslin, George Will and Ellen Goodman may be more famous, but they've got nothing on The Urban Warrior, Joe Sixpack, or Riot Grrrl. For many readers of the Philadelphia Daily News, these superhero-like scribes who tackle local issues are more interesting than any nationally known award-winner.

"It's just our personality," said Mike Days, Daily News managing editor. "People expect us to educate them and entertain them at the same time."

For nearly 40 years, according to veterans of the paper, the Knight Ridder tabloid has made a name for itself with some unusual columnists who not only cover a decidedly different set of beats, but also do it under some colorful personas. Although their missions involve the same basics of digging up news and presenting it well, a mix of attitude and humor give them a unique perspective.

Currently, at least four of these wacky writers are regulars in the City of Brotherly Love's second largest paper: The Urban Warrior, a fatigues-clad woman who writes about city living; Joe Sixpack, whose biweekly fermentations look at the joys and sorrows of beer; Riot Grrrl, a reviewer of public protests; and Stinkmeister, a character described by the paper as a "voice of the pee-and-poop-plagued public."

"As a writer it is a great opportunity because you can really do a lot with a character and take on a different identity," said Don Russell, a staff reporter who doubles as Joe Sixpack and has filled in for other character columnists in recent years.

The parade of pen names began in the 1960s, according to Days, with Phantom Rider, who gave the lowdown on public transit issues and made a brief return last year to protest plans for transit cuts.

Other disguised scribes have included Jolt Mistress and Joltmeister, who search for the worst potholes and bumps; Hydro Cop, the drought-era sleuth; The Rip-Off Ranger, a consumer advocate; Auntie Freeze, watchdog of cold weather problems; and The Countess, who wrote about issues related to the last U.S. Census.

"Our characters never die; they just complete their mission until we need them again," City Editor Kurt Heine said. "They really serve a purpose."

A few years back, for example, The Urban Warrior battled an epidemic of abandoned cars and won, while Hydro Cop has sparked reprimands against numerous public employees who wasted water washing buses and watering lawns.

Some of the nouveau newshounds have gone beyond just covering the story. Russell, as Joe Sixpack, found himself testifying before the Philadelphia City Council in 1998 after writing that 18-oz. beer cups at Veterans Stadium actually held only 16 ounces. "It turned into a great little local scandal," Russell recalls, adding that the stadium beer prices were eventually dropped. "At the hearings, they started referring to me as 'Mr. Sixpack.'"

Russell also took a turn this past spring as a ghost writer for Smarty Jones, the Philadelphia-area horse that nearly won racing's Triple Crown.

The newest member of the character column crew is Riot Grrrl, a.k.a. Catherine Lucey, a Daily News police reporter who launched her offbeat take on protests with a June story on a visit by President George W. Bush.

But Riot Grrrl's local columns are just a warm-up for the Republican National Convention in New York, which she is attending with an eye toward the expected anti-GOP activities. Lucey explains that she did not attend the Democratic convention because it did not seem as ripe for rowdy behavior.

For City Editor Heine, keeping perspective on the cast of columnist characters means being serious about the news, but not too serious about the approach. "We have fun with it," he declares.