When he announced a few weeks ago that he’d be calling it quits, I don’t think most in the Chicago media expected it to actually happen. After all, Robert Feder has been on the radio and TV beat for almost three decades. He’s outlasted general managers, program directors, jocks … heck, he’s outlasted all but a few formats still on the air in Chicago.

But after several weeks of tributes from colleagues like Neil Steinberg, Carol Marin, and Richard Roeper, among others, Feder finally punched out one last column, using his last drops of ink to pay homage to several and to smear a few, as well.

Rob Feder has always placed the highest value on getting the story. That often meant befriending many of those that he covered, and almost as often, it meant holding a grudge against those who refused to cooperate. Make no mistake — plenty of air talent and general managers used Feder’s column for their own publicity. But Feder would also use his column to publicly skewer anyone who got between him and his deadline.

In the end, if you’ve worked in Chicago media during the last 28 years, you’ve made it a morning ritual to crack open the Sun-Times and check out Feder’s column. And most of you scanned the column, looking for your name in bold letters. It won’t be the same without Feder.