Andrew Patner (December 17, 1959 – February 3, 2015) was an American Chicago-based journalist, broadcaster, critic, and interviewer. Patner was born in Chicago and attended

Kenwood Academy Kenwood Academy (also known as Kenwood Academy High School and formerly known as Kenwood High School) is a comprehensive public high school and magnet middle school located in the Hyde Park– Kenwood neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Il ...

. He went on to attend the

College of the University of Chicago The College of the University of Chicago is the university's sole undergraduate institution and one of its oldest components, emerging contemporaneously with the university's Hyde Park campus in 1892. Instruction is provided by faculty from acros ...

, where he served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper,

The Chicago Maroon ''The Chicago Maroon'', the independent student newspaper of the University of Chicago, is a weekly publication founded in 1892. During autumn, winter, and spring quarters of the academic year, ''The Maroon'' publishes every Wednesday. The pap ...

from 1979 to 1980. Patner received a BA in history from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1985. He attended the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

, but left the program in 1988 to further pursue a career in journalism. His book, ''I.F. Stone: a portrait'', about the iconoclastic journalist

I.F. Stone Isidor Feinstein "I. F." Stone (December 24, 1907 – June 18, 1989) was an American investigative journalist, writer, and author. Known for his politically progressive views, Stone is best remembered for ''I. F. Stone's Weekly'' (1953–1971), ...

was published in the same year. From 1989 to 1990, Patner served as a staff reporter for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''. Beginning in 1991, Patner was a regular contributor of arts criticism to the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

. Patner contributed over 2,000 pieces of arts criticism covering a broad range of topics including music, dance, books, and film. Beginning in 2006, he served as the publication's classical music and opera critic. Patner worked for Chicago's National Public Radio affiliate

WBEZ WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and lis ...

for eight years as an arts critic, program host, and producer. He also served as critic-at-large for

WFMT WFMT is an FM broadcasting, FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a format of fine arts, classical music programming, and shows exploring such genres as folk music, folk. The station is managed by Window to the World Communications, In ...

Fine Arts Radio, where he hosted a weekly program called "Critical Thinking" from 1998 until his death in 2015. While working as editor-in-chief for the Chicago Maroon in 1979, Patner began covering LGBT subjects, including the first

National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights The first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on October 14, 1979. The first such march on Washington, it drew between 75,000 and 125,000Ghaziani, Amin. 2008. ''T ...

. In 1993, Patner became the first regular writer for a mainstream Chicago newspaper to write about being gay. His partner of 25 years,

Tom Bachtell Tom Bachtell is a self-taught artist who is an illustrator and caricaturist for ''The New Yorker's'' Talk of the Town as well as other sections, contributing regularly for 23 years.https://www.facebook.com/tombachtell. Retrieved on 14 March 2016 ...

, is an acclaimed illustrator for

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

magazine. Patner died suddenly in 2015.Levy, Paul
"Andrew Patner: Journalist whose eclectic career encompassed the life of Chicago, classical music, cultural matters and politics"
April 30, 2015. Retrieved on March 14, 2016.sarahtr
"Arts critic Andrew Patner dies at 55; versatile Chicago writer, radio host"
February 3, 2015. Retrieved on March 14, 2016.

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