Charlie Sykes

Charles Jay Sykes was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in New York and Fox Point, Wisconsin.{{cite web|first=Jeff|last=Sherman|title=Milwaukee Talks: Charlie Sykes|url=http://onmilwaukee.com/buzz/articles/sykes.html|work=OnMilwaukee.com|date=April 12, 2005|access-date=December 20, 2016}} He is the son of Katherine "Kay" Border and Jay G. Sykes,{{cite web |title=Katherine B. "Kay" Sykes |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/jsonline/obituary.aspx?n=katherine-b-sykes-kay&pid=87753505 |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |via=Legacy.com |date=May 4, 2007 |access-date=September 22, 2017}} a lawyer who later worked as a journalist for several small newspapers in New York before joining the Milwaukee Sentinel in 1962. Jay later became a lecturer in journalism at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee,{{cite news|title=Journalism prof Sykes to run for Lt. Gov. post|website=The UWM Post|date=February 3, 1970}} a board member of the American Civil Liberties Union Wisconsin chapter, and ran for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin unsuccessfully against Martin J. Schreiber in the 1970 Democratic primary.

After graduating from Nicolet High School, Sykes enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where in 1975 he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English.{{cite web|first=Kurt|last=Chandler|title=Charlie's bully pulpit|url=https://www.milwaukeemag.com/2000/07/01/charlies-bully-pulpit/|work=Milwaukee Magazine|date=July 2000|access-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106115014/https://www.milwaukeemag.com/2000/07/01/charlies-bully-pulpit/|archive-date=November 6, 2016}} While at Milwaukee, Sykes was a member of the Young Democrats of America, and following a nonreligious upbringing he converted to Roman Catholicism at age 18. In 1974, using the slogan "A Different Kind of Democrat" due to his opposition to abortion, Sykes challenged Republican incumbent Jim Sensenbrenner for Wisconsin State Assembly and lost. As Milwaukee Magazine profiled, "his pro-life campaign signaled a growing crack in his liberalism. And as elements within the antiwar movement became violent, he became increasingly disillusioned."

Sykes began his career as a journalist, starting in 1975 with West Allis, Wisconsin, weekly The Northeast Post for a year. In 1976, Sykes joined The Milwaukee Journal, starting with reporting on stories in the North Shore suburbs, before being promoted to the Milwaukee City Hall beat during the administration of Mayor Henry Maier. After seven years of reporting in the Milwaukee area, Sykes moved to Cleveland in 1982 as a staff writer for Cleveland Magazine but the magazine went out of business by the end of the year. In 1983, Sykes returned to Milwaukee as managing editor at Milwaukee Magazine and moved up to editor-in-chief in January 1984. Sykes wrote features, investigative articles, and commentary for Milwaukee Magazine.

Sykes is a published author, primarily concerning education. He made his book debut in 1988 with Profscam: Professors and the Demise of Higher Education, inspired by his father's essay published posthumously in the October 1985 Milwaukee Magazine recalling his experience teaching at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.{{cite web|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/08/18/charles-sykes-takes-higher-education-task-once-again-new-book|title=Calling Out the Professoriate|author=Fain, Paul|work=Inside Higher Ed|date=August 18, 2016|access-date=December 20, 2016}} From December 2018 through February 2024, Sykes was editor-in-chief of The Bulwark. He has also written commentary for Imprimis,{{cite web |title=Charles Sykes, Author at Imprimis |url=https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/author/charlessykes/ |work=Imprimis |publisher=Hillsdale College |access-date=September 22, 2017}} The New York Times,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/04/opinion/sunday/why-nobody-cares-the-president-is-lying.html|first=Charles J.|last=Sykes|date=February 4, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 5, 2017|title=Why Nobody Cares the President Is Lying}} The Wall Street Journal, and has edited WI Interest, the magazine of the Badger Institute (formerly the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute) and the website Right Wisconsin.{{cite web|title=Charlie Sykes|url=http://www.rightwisconsin.com/about-us/charlie-sykes|publisher=Right Wisconsin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328203936/http://www.rightwisconsin.com/about-us/charlie-sykes|archive-date=March 28, 2016|url-status=dead}}

In an era when the national success of Rush Limbaugh was inspiring similar call-in talk radio shows around the United States, Sykes started hosting talk radio in 1989 as a substitute host for Mark Belling at WISN in Milwaukee. Sykes got his own show on WISN by 1992. Lacking a contract with WISN, Sykes jumped to WTMJ within a year and hosted a morning show there until December 19, 2016.{{Cite web|url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2016/12/19/paul-ryan-thanks-charlie-sykes-lifting-conservative-ideas/95609786/|title=Paul Ryan thanks Charlie Sykes for lifting conservative ideas|first=Bill|last=Glauber|work=Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel|date=December 19, 2016|access-date=December 20, 2016}}

In 2002, Sykes and fellow WTMJ host Jeff Wagner gained prominence in leading a campaign to recall Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament, who was embroiled in scandal for changing the county pension policy to give himself and close aides large payouts; Ament controversially retired at the end of February 2002, rather than resign, to retain his pension.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020803171440/http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb02/18968.asp|archive-date=August 3, 2002|title=Radio hosts take center stage in recall drive|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb02/18968.asp|first=Meg|last=Kissinger|work=Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel|date=February 9, 2002|access-date=December 26, 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Borowski |first1=Greg J. |last2=Johnson |first2=Mike|title=Ament quits|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb02/22347.asp|work=Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel|date=February 22, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020914071427/http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb02/22347.asp|archive-date=September 14, 2002|access-date=December 26, 2016|url-status=dead}} In a 2005 speech, Jay Heck, executive director of the Wisconsin branch of the liberal political advocacy group Common Cause, referred to Sykes' influence on local politicians. He said: "The Sykes Republicans from southeastern Wisconsin are worried that he will castigate them by calling them RINOs, 'Republicans in name only.' So (he makes it) very difficult for Republicans to be independent of the party line on any issue."{{cite web|first=Mike|last=Drew|title=Getting crowded, getting right|url=http://www.jsonline.com/enter/tvradio/may05/325262.asp|work=Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel|date=May 11, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050526124710/http://www.jsonline.com/enter/tvradio/may05/325262.asp|archive-date=May 26, 2005|access-date=December 26, 2016|url-status=dead}}

Sykes opposed the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump, campaiged against him and cast a write-in vote for independent conservative candidate Evan McMullin.{{cite web |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/sykes-if-you-embrace-trump-you-embrace-every-slur-insult-outrage-falsehood/article/2002334 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511120154/http://www.weeklystandard.com/sykes-if-you-embrace-trump-you-embrace-every-slur-insult-outrage-falsehood/article/2002334 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 11, 2016 |title=Sykes: If You Embrace Trump, You Embrace Every Slur, Insult, Outrage, Falsehood |first=Shoshana|last=Weissmann |date=May 10, 2016 |website=The Weekly Standard |access-date=August 26, 2016 |quote=}}{{cite web |url=http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/05/09/conservative-radio-host-you-embrace-trump-you-embrace-every-slur-every-insult-every-outrage-every/210319 |title=Conservative Radio Host: You Embrace Trump, "You Embrace Every Slur, Every Insult, Every Outrage, Every Falsehood" |quote=Charlie Sykes: "He's A Narcissist And A Bully, A Man With No Fixed Principles Who Has The Vocabulary Of An Emotionally Insecure 9-Year-Old" |date=May 9, 2016 |website=Media Matters for America |access-date=August 26, 2016}}{{cite news|url=http://www.rightwisconsin.com/opinion/daily-takes/charlie-sykes-why-im-voting-for-evan-mcmullin|title=Why I'm Voting for Evan McMullin|last=Sykes|first=Charles|date=27 September 2016|website=RightWisconsin.com|access-date=11 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111122832/http://www.rightwisconsin.com/opinion/daily-takes/charlie-sykes-why-im-voting-for-evan-mcmullin|archive-date=11 November 2016|url-status=dead}} In October 2016, Sykes announced that he had decided late in 2015 to quit his radio show for unspecified personal reasons.{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/10/charlie-sykes-to-end-his-radio-show-229102|title=Charlie Sykes to end his radio show|last=Gold|first=Hadas|authorlink=Hadas Gold|publisher=Politico|date=2016-10-04}} In December 2016, Sykes wrote an op-ed for The New York Times suggesting that the conservative movement had lost its way during the 2016 campaign, saying that "as we learned this year, we had succeeded in persuading our audiences to ignore and discount any information from the mainstream media. Over time, we'd succeeded in delegitimizing the media altogether — all the normal guideposts were down, the referees discredited."{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/opinion/sunday/charlie-sykes-on-where-the-right-went-wrong.html|author=Syke, Charles J.|title=Charlie Sykes on Where the Right Went Wrong|work=The New York Times|date=December 15, 2016|access-date=December 20, 2016}} From January to April 2017, he was part of a rotating set of hosts of Indivisible, a call-in talk show distributed by WNYC public radio in New York City, along with Brian Lehrer of WNYC and Kerri Miller of Minnesota Public Radio among others. The show analyzed and discussed the first 100 days of Trump's presidency.{{cite news|last1=Sutton|first1=Kelsey|title=Charlie Sykes returns to radio as co-host of WNYC show|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2017/01/charlie-sykes-returns-to-radio-as-co-host-of-wnyc-show-233594|access-date=23 January 2017|website=Politico|date=13 January 2016}}

Sykes became the host of The Daily Standard, the revived podcast of The Weekly Standard magazine in February 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.weeklystandard.com/tws-podcast/the-daily-standard-podcast-returns|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429024140/https://www.weeklystandard.com/tws-podcast/the-daily-standard-podcast-returns|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 29, 2018|title=The Daily Standard Podcast Returns!|work=The Weekly Standard|date=February 13, 2018|access-date=April 27, 2018}} Sykes was the founder and editor-at-large of The Bulwark and host of "The Bulwark Podcast" from 2018 to 2023. He left The Bulwark on February 9, 2024.{{Cite web |last=Sykes |first=Charlie |date=February 1, 2024 |title=Getting Off the Daily Hamster Wheel of Crazy |url=https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/getting-off-the-daily-hamster-wheel?r=c6lyh }} At the time, he stated that he would continue writing and giving commentary, including at MSNBC, but at a more measured pace.{{cite news|title=Wisconsin commentator Charlie Sykes leaving The Bulwark, anti-Trump website he co-founded|date=February 1, 2024|publisher=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|author=Hope Karnopp|url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/01/charlie-sykes-leaving-the-bulwark-anti-trump-website-he-helped-found/72436911007/}}

Sykes was an investigative reporter at WISN-TV in 1983. From 1993 to 2016, he hosted the local Sunday morning talk show Sunday Insight for WTMJ-TV. In 1994, Sykes contributed an essay to the ITVS series "Declarations: Essays on American Ideals", which was broadcast on PBS stations.{{cite web |title=Declarations: Essays on American Ideals |url=https://itvs.org/films/declarations |publisher=ITVS |date=May 17, 1994 |access-date=March 20, 2018}}

Over the course of his public life, Sykes has gone from mainstream liberal to conservative Democrat, to strongly conservative Republican, to libertarian, and as of 2024 is a vehemently anti-Donald Trump voice.{{cite web | url=https://www.wispolitics.com/2021/sykes-certainly-not-proud-of-past-contributions-to-wisconsins-hyperpartisanship/ | title=Sykes 'certainly not proud' of past contributions to Wisconsin's 'hyperpartisanship' | date=24 January 2021 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.milwaukeemag.com/charlies-bully-pulpit/ | title=Charlie's Bully Pulpit | date=July 2000 }}

In May 1975, Sykes married Christine Libbey. Five months later, their daughter was born. The marriage ended in divorce in early 1978, and was annulled by the Catholic Church two years later.{{cite web|last=Chandler|first=Kurt|title=Charlie's Bully Pulpit|url=https://www.milwaukeemag.com/charlies-bully-pulpit/|work=Milwaukee Magazine|date=July 1, 2000|access-date=March 11, 2024}} In August 1980, Sykes married Diane Schwerm, who went on to become a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice and subsequently a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.{{cite web |url=http://www.wisopinion.com/blogs/eyeonwi/sykes002.pdf |title=Archived copy |website=www.wisopinion.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319122120/http://www.wisopinion.com/blogs/eyeonwi/sykes002.pdf |archive-date=19 March 2016 |url-status=dead}} The couple had two sons before divorcing amicably in 1999. As early as 1996, rumors had circulated of a relationship between Sykes and Janet Riordan, an opera singer. He married her one year after his divorce from Diane.

{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?35197-1/a-nation-victims Booknotes interview with Sykes on A Nation of Victims, September 30, 1992], C-SPAN| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?305093-1/a-nation-moochers Presentation by Sykes on A Nation of Moochers, March 1, 2012], C-SPAN| video3 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?433923-2/after-words-charles-sykes After Words interview with Sykes on How the Right Lost Its Mind, October 7, 2017], C-SPAN| video4 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?436774-28/open-phones-charles-sykes Interview with Sykes on How the Right Lost Its Mind, November 19, 2007], C-SPAN| video5 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?436774-25/charles-sykes-discusses-how-lost-mind Presentation by Sykes on How the Right Lost Its Mind, November 19, 2007], C-SPAN}}

• {{cite book|author=Sykes, Charles J.|title=Profscam: Professors and the Demise of Higher Education|place=Washington|publisher=Regnery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xrpsJcLSXUIC|isbn=0895265591|year=1988}}
• {{cite book|author=Sykes, Charles J.|title=The Hollow Men: Politics and Corruption in Higher Education|place=Washington|publisher=Regnery Gateway|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pRmcAAAAMAAJ|isbn=0895265397|year=1990}}
• {{cite book|author=Sykes, Charles J.|title=A Nation of Victims: The Decay of the American Character|place=New York|publisher=St. Martin's Press|url=https://archive.org/details/nationofvictimsd00syke|url-access=registration|isbn=0312098820|year=1992}}
• {{cite book|author=Sykes, Charles J.|title=Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, Or Add|place=New York|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|url=https://archive.org/details/dumbingdownourki00syke_0|url-access=registration|isbn=0312148232|year=1995}}
• {{cite book|author=Sykes, Charles J.|title=The End of Privacy: The Attack on Personal Rights at Home, at Work, On-Line, and in Court|place=New York|publisher=St. Martin's Press|url=https://archive.org/details/endofprivacy00syke|url-access=registration|isbn=0312268300|year=1999}}
• {{cite book|author=Sykes, Charles J.|title=50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School: Real-World Antidotes to Feel-Good Education|place=New York|publisher=St. Martin's Press|url=https://archive.org/details/50ruleskidswontl0000syke|url-access=registration|isbn=978-1466831278|year=2007}}
• {{cite book|author=Sykes, Charles J.|title=A Nation of Moochers: America's Addiction to Getting Something for Nothing|place=New York|publisher=St. Martin's Press|url=https://archive.org/details/nationofmoochers00syke|url-access=registration|isbn=978-1429951074|year=2012}}
• {{cite book|author=Sykes, Charles J.|title=Fail U.: The False Promise of Higher Education|place=New York|publisher=St. Martin's Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mK5nCwAAQBAJ|isbn=978-1250091765|year=2016}}
• {{cite book|last=Sykes|first=Charles J.|year=2017|title=How the Right Lost Its Mind|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c161DQAAQBAJ|place=New York|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1250147172}}

• List of Republicans who opposed the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign
• List of Republicans who opposed the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign

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• {{Cite web|last=Murphy|first=Bruce|title=Back in the News: Sykes Is No Longer a Republican|url=https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2021/02/09/back-in-the-news-sykes-is-no-longer-a-republican/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=Urban Milwaukee|language=en}}

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