HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Eric Zorn (born January 6, 1958) is a former American
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...
and daily blogger for the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' who specialized in local news as well as politics.


Early life and education

Zorn is a graduate of the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, where he majored in
English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
and
creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...
. He is the grandson of
Max Zorn Max August Zorn (; June 6, 1906 – March 9, 1993) was a German mathematician. He was an algebraist, group theorist, and numerical analyst. He is best known for Zorn's lemma, a method used in set theory that is applicable to a wide range of ...
, author of Zorn's Lemma.


Career

After serving a four-month internship at the ''
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
'', Zorn started working for the ''Chicago Tribune'' in summer 1980. He has been a
columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...
for it since 1986. About four times a year for some years, Zorn and fellow ''Tribune'' columnist
Mary Schmich Mary Theresa Schmich ( ; born November 29, 1953) is an American journalist. She was a columnist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' from 1992 to 2021, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2012. Her columns were syndicated nationally by Tribune Content Agency. ...
wrote a week of columns that consisted of a back-and-forth exchange of letters. Each December since 1999 (except for
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
2020), Schmich and Zorn have hosted the "Songs of Good Cheer" holiday
caroling A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with Christian church worship, and sometimes accompanied by a dance. A caroller (or caroler) is someone who sings carols, and is said to be carolling (or caroling). ...
parties at the
Old Town School of Folk Music The Old Town School of Folk Music is a Chicago teaching and performing institution that launched the careers of many notable folk music artists. Founded by Folk musicians Frank Hamilton and Win Stracke, and Dawn Greening, the School opened in the ...
to raise money for the Tribune Holiday Fund charities. Zorn co-wrote the 1990 book ''Murder of Innocence'', about Laurie Dann. The book served as the basis for a 1993
made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
movie with the same name. Since 2003, Zorn has penned "Change of Subject", the ''Tribune''s first blog. When Alden Global Capital took control of the Chicago Tribune in the spring of 2021, Zorn was among the many columnists and other journalists who accepted a buyout offer from the company. His final column appeared on June 27, 2021. In September of that year he began writing "The Picayune Sentinel," https://ericzorn.substack.com/ a newsletter named after the newsletter once published by his grandfather, Max August Zorn https://ericzorn.com/index.php/2021/11/29/the-story-behind-the-title-of-the-picayune-sentinel/


Political views

Zorn is a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
and has stated, "I’m a Democrat because I think man-made climate change is real, that it’s vile to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, that access to quality health care should be a right, that the death penalty should be abolished, that income inequality should be diminished and that we shouldn’t privatize public education. I’m a Democrat because I believe it should be hard to buy a gun—especially if you’re on a
law-enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...
watch list—and that every firearm should be registered, licensed and easily tracked ... organized labor and 'big government' interventions are needed to smooth out the roller-coaster ride of free-market capitalism."


References


External links


Archive of columns
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zorn, Eric Chicago Tribune people American columnists 1958 births Living people Writers from Chicago American male bloggers American bloggers University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 21st-century American non-fiction writers