Paul Grabowicz

Paul Grabowicz could have been a character in a pulp novel -- the surly, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed newspaper reporter with a big heart. But Mr. Grabowicz was real, a veteran cop reporter at the Oakland Tribune who smoked while he typed, drank after deadline and earned a private-eye license just in case he needed a career backup plan. Not stuck in the past, though, he embraced the digital age and began a second career as a digital journalism teacher at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, guiding the next generation of reporters into the profession. Mr. Grabowicz died Thursday after a yearlong fight with cancer. He was 66.