Eric Zorn is a 1980 graduate of the University of Michigan, where he was an arts editor at the Michigan Daily and a creative-writing/English Literature major.
He began at the Chicago Tribune as a reporting intern in the summer of 1980. After five years as a feature writer and radio columnist in the Tempo section he moved to the metropolitan news staff, where in late 1986, he became a news-feature columnist.
That column, Hometowns, gradually evolved into the commentary column that bears his name. It moved from Metro to Commentary in July, 2009, In August of 2003, he started the Tribune’s first Web log, “Change of Subject” In July, 2006, highlights of that Web log began appearing in the Sunday print editions of the paper. He took a buyout from the Tribune in June, 2021 and has been publishing The Picayune Sentinel since September of that year.
He is a co-author of the 1990 book, “Murder of Innocence,” an exploration of the life and tragic rampage of Winnetka schoolhouse killer Laurie Dann.
Zorn, his wife Johanna (executive director of the Third Coast International Audio Festival) live on the city’s Northwest Side. They have three adult children.
His main hobby is old time American string band music. He is a pretty good square dance fiddler.
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