{"id":15349,"date":"2025-04-24T13:02:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T13:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/?p=15349"},"modified":"2025-04-24T13:06:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T13:06:58","slug":"mary-schmich-podcasts-division-street-revisited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/04\/24\/mary-schmich-podcasts-division-street-revisited\/","title":{"rendered":"Pulitzer winner Mary Schmich&#8217;s journey from newspapers to podcasts with \u2018Division Street Revisited\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">On the latest episode of the Nieman Storyboard podcast, Storyboard Editor Mark Armstrong welcomes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pulitzer.org\/winners\/mary-schmich\">Mary Schmich<\/a>, the Pulitzer Prize-winning former columnist for the Chicago Tribune and host of the podcast <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mharris.com\/divisionstreetrevisited\">&#8220;Division Street Revisited,&#8221;<\/a> which follows the stories of seven people featured in Studs Terkel&#8217;s 1967 oral history book, <a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/division-street-america-studs-terkel\/058c137896609bd2\">&#8220;Division Street: America.&#8221;<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Schmich teamed up with former colleague Melissa Harris, who came up with the idea for the show, and a group of acclaimed journalists to research and produce the podcast. In Terkel&#8217;s original book, the people profiled used pseudonyms \u2014 so Schmich, Harris, and the team tracked down their real identities and surviving family members, and pulled audio recordings from a recently digitized archive of Terkel&#8217;s work. Terkel himself was a legend of American (and Chicago) journalism, for oral histories including &#8220;Division Street,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/the-good-war-an-oral-history-of-world-war-ii-studs-terkel\/11170840\">&#8220;The Good War,&#8221;<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/hard-times-an-oral-history-of-the-great-depression-studs-terkel\/594467?ean=9781565846562&amp;next=t\">&#8220;Hard Times,&#8221;<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/working-people-talk-about-what-they-do-all-day-and-how-they-feel-about-what-they-do-studs-terkel\/11170811\">&#8220;Working.&#8221;<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-spacer mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<div style=\"height:42px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-html mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-17033624\"><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/2449998\/episodes\/17033624-mary-schmich-s-journey-from-newspapers-to-podcasts-with-division-street-revisited.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-17033624&#038;player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>[ Follow us in <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/nieman-storyboard\/id1804505440\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/4cN4SOwf5Am05PoA9wckcA\">Spotify<\/a>, or your <a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.buzzsprout.com\/2449998\/episodes\">favorite podcast app<\/a>. ]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-spacer mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<div style=\"height:55px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Schmich&#8217;s career spans art and journalism&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Schmich has won the Pulitzer Prize and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicnarrative.org\/blog\/2018\/08\/attendance-terkel-awards-program-provides-platform-connection\">Studs Terkel Award<\/a> for her work as a columnist at the Chicago Tribune. She grew up in Georgia and Arizona as the oldest of eight children, and she graduated from Pomona College and attended journalism school at Stanford. From 1985 until 2021, she worked at the<em> <\/em>Chicago Tribune, where she was a features writer, a national correspondent and, for 29 years, a columnist. &#8220;Over the years, I cultivated three essential mantras, which [were]: Panic is my muse. Deadlines crowd out doubt. It always gets done,&#8221; Schmich said.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>One day in 1997, Schmich sat down to write her column and imagined a graduation speech that she&#8217;d give, with the timeless advice: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/1997\/06\/01\/advice-like-youth-probably-just-wasted-on-the-young-2\/\">&#8220;Wear sunscreen.&#8221;<\/a> Through a twist of fate, director Baz Luhrmann put her speech to music and transformed it into a worldwide hit song in the late &#8217;90s.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>On today&#8217;s episode of Storyboard, Schmich delves into the importance of \u201cDivision Street Revisited,\u201d the histories she and her collaborators traced, and the larger communities that these individuals\u2019 stories represent. She also talks about Terkel&#8217;s approach to interviews, the difference between reporting for print and for podcasts, the disappearing role of the newspaper metro columnist, and the storytelling lessons she picked up from writing the serialized \u201cBrenda Starr\u201d comic strip from 1985 to 2010.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Today, Schmich also teaches yoga and co-hosts the annual \u201cSongs of Good Cheer\u201d singalong at the Old Town School of Folk Music. She was a <a href=\"https:\/\/nieman.harvard.edu\/fellowships\/alumni-perspectives\/mary-schmich-nf-96\/\">1996 Nieman Fellow at Harvard<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Excerpts below are edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Advice to journalists and producers on making a podcast:<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>There&#8217;s two categories of advice, right? One, there&#8217;s the journalistic, artistic advice, and two, there&#8217;s the \u2018get real\u2019 advice. It&#8217;s not easy to make a podcast \u2014 a narrative storytelling podcast. It&#8217;s not easy to find the money to do it. It&#8217;s not cheap if people are going to get paid and if you\u2019re going to have people who are really good at all the elements that you need to make the thing good. So a certain realism about it is helpful. On a journalistic, artistic level, the advice would be not all that different from the advice you&#8217;d give&nbsp; to someone about telling any good story. What are the elements that make a good story? It&#8217;s the same essential elements, right?<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>You&#8217;ve got character. You&#8217;ve got setting. You&#8217;ve got action. You&#8217;ve got meaning. How do you weave those? It&#8217;s always a puzzle. Which is part of the fun.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the medium of podcasting:<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>I like it a lot. It&#8217;s just fun to learn something new. To tell a story in a somewhat different way. To be more alert to sound. There are things you can convey with sound that when you&#8217;re just writing them down, you have to try to do with words. If the birds are chirping in the background, or the guy out front is banging in the dumpster, you have to describe that if you&#8217;re writing it in a column. In the podcast, it&#8217;s just there and people can get the vibe without your having to make up the words. There&#8217;s a lot to be said for intonation, right? People&#8217;s voices carry so much that when you&#8217;re just writing them down as quotes, it\u2019s different.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On Studs Terkel&#8217;s approach to interviewing:&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-image mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mharris.com\/divisionstreetrevisited\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15356\" style=\"width:428px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb.png 600w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb-40x40.png 40w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb-180x180.png 180w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb-360x360.png 360w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb-115x115.png 115w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/division-street-600x600bb-230x230.png 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>\u200aI admired the energy that he brought to the conversation, that simultaneously left space for the person&nbsp; to talk. And there is an art in that, to be an active listener, to talk but not too much. All of these interviews are fun to listen to because Studs is clearly having fun. You just hear him cackling away. He had some questions like \u2026 &#8220;If you were God, how would you change the world?&#8221; &#8220;What are you afraid of?&#8221; I think a lot about that question. \u2026 Somebody should do a podcast just called &#8220;What Are You Afraid Of?&#8221; And go talk to people.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>[In Schmich&#8217;s own work,] I don&#8217;t remember ever quite that bluntly saying, &#8220;What are you afraid of?&#8221; I mean, I&#8217;m always looking for \u201cWhat are you afraid of?\u201d I&#8217;m often aiming for specifics and I like to give people plenty of space to just say what they&#8217;re thinking and feeling. But the value of the blunt, broad question was brought home to me by what Studs does.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On her journey to column writing and her essential mantras:<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>I came into column writing at a point in my life where I didn&#8217;t really think I wanted to write a column. When I was younger, I did. I was very full of opinions. And then I had to be \u2014 got to be \u2014 a real reporter for a long time. I covered the South for the<em> <\/em>Tribune. And I came to just understand how little I knew and not trust myself to have huge opinions on whatever the news of the day was. Because I came to see that if you have not reported the news, you don&#8217;t understand the news. Even when you do report it, you&#8217;re having trouble understanding it. But wow, you&#8217;re just reading about it and reacting? What are you talking about?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>So, I mean, I always had an approach to column writing, which was a melding of opinion and storytelling. Because I do think the stories you choose to tell express ideas, express viewpoints. Sometimes better than the hammer-on-the-head opinion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>One thing I got from column writing \u2014 a really important thing \u2014 was how to write tight and short. Because for most of my time at the Tribune, the column was literally in a box. And you couldn&#8217;t break out of the box. Every now and then you could. But you had to figure out, <em>what can I say in the space and time I have today?<\/em> Over the years, I cultivated three essential mantras, which [were]: Panic is my muse. Deadlines crowd out doubt. It always gets done.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On writing the \u2018Brenda Starr\u2019 comic strip:<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>I started writing a comic strip having no clue what I was doing. I learned along the way. But once again, I think all of these forms of storytelling are different and they require different skills. And yet, a story&#8217;s a story. So with writing the comic strip, first of all, there&#8217;s no reporting. You\u2019re just making stuff up, right? But I think on some level it did help me to visualize stories. Obviously I wasn&#8217;t doing the drawing, but I had to write in a way that would allow the artist to draw. I don&#8217;t know how to get too lofty about that, but I do think it probably accentuated my sense of how characters and dialogue help to carry a story.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the global phenomenon that was &#8216;Wear Sunscreen&#8217;:&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>\u200aThis is a column I wrote in an afternoon, in a panic, because I had nothing else to write. So, we&#8217;re going back to my &#8220;deadlines crowd out doubt, panic is my muse, it always gets done&#8221; philosophy, right? I just thought, well, it&#8217;s graduation time, I&#8217;ll write this fake graduation speech. M&amp;M&#8217;s and a cappuccino and a deadline, and I wrote it.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>And I remember thinking, <em>Oh, I kind of like that<\/em>. I wouldn&#8217;t always think that, but I kind of like that. And then it just took on this unbelievable life of its own. It was early days of the internet and it went viral before I think \u201cviral\u201d was even a term. Attributed to Kurt Vonnegut, which helped to elevate it, because now it&#8217;s attached to a famous, cult famous, writer. And then the fact that it wasn&#8217;t really him elevated it a little more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>So now you&#8217;ve got the whole element of, Oh my God, look at this evil internet, what it can do, the lies it can tell. And then Baz Luhrmann swoops in and puts it over some music that he&#8217;d used in his movie &#8220;Romeo and Juliet.&#8221; Turns it into a spoken-word piece.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Originally around seven minutes. Did well in Australia. And then some radio station cut it down to five minutes. \u2026 And then The New York Times did a little blurb. I mean, the steps in this are fascinating, the steps to something rising in the cultural consciousness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Then it was off. And all of a sudden, it was just everywhere. Part of what I take from it is, just do your work, because you never know what&#8217;s going to come of it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>I always say there was a ghost in that piece. There was some unspoken stuff in that piece that people felt.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reading List: Authors, Stories, and Books Mentioned<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-list mb-4 list max-w-screen-full mx-auto pl-5 \">\n            \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/84405\/9781620979136\">&#8220;Division Street: America&#8221;<\/a> (Studs Terkel)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mharris.com\/divisionstreetrevisited\">&#8220;Division Street Revisited&#8221;<\/a> production credits and notes (M. Harris &amp; Co.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/author\/mary-schmich\/\">Schmich&#8217;s<strong> <\/strong>Chicago Tribune archive<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2021\/06\/19\/column-not-so-long-ago-29-years-i-started-writing-a-column-this-will-be-the-last-thank-you\/\">&#8220;Not so long ago \u2014 29 years \u2014 I started writing a column. This will be the last. Thank you.&#8221;<\/a> (Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune, 2021)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mary Schmich&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pulitzer.org\/winners\/mary-schmich\">Pulitzer Prize-winning columns<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoliteraryhof.org\/comics\/entry\/brenda-starr-a-female-role-model\">Brenda Starr Comic Strip&nbsp;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/1997\/06\/01\/advice-like-youth-probably-just-wasted-on-the-young-2\/\">&#8220;Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young&#8221;<\/a> (Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune, June 1, 1997)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/billhealymedia.com\/\">Bill Healy<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thirdcoastfestival.org\/person\/cate-cahan\">Cate Cahan<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/will-the-circle-be-unbroken-reflections-on-death-rebirth-and-hunger-for-a-faith-studs-terkel\/7400297?ean=9781620970119&amp;next=t\">&#8220;Will the Circle Be Unbroken&#8221;<\/a><em> <\/em>(Studs Terkel)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/margaretatwood.ca\/\">Margaret Atwood<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/lifestyle\/media\/mary-schmich-chicago-tribune-columnists\/2021\/06\/25\/0770ef66-d501-11eb-9f29-e9e6c9e843c6_story.html\">\u201cA legendary Chicago newspaper columnist bids farewell \u2014 and wonders who will be left to tell her city\u2019s tale\u201d<\/a> (Paul Farhi, The Washington Post, 2021)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/84405\/9781572842557\">Mike Royko<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/markjacob.bsky.social\">Mark Jacob<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/author\/eric-zorn\/\">Eric Zorn<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vonnegut.com\/\">Kurt Vonnegut<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mauricecarlosruffin.com\/\">Maurice Carlos Ruffin<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcj.com\/ramona-fradon-1926-2024\/\">Ramona Fradon<\/a> (artist)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artwanted.com\/juneart\">June Brigman <\/a>(artist)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Listening List<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-list mb-4 list max-w-screen-full mx-auto pl-5 \">\n            \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mharris.com\/divisionstreetrevisited\">&#8220;Division Street Revisited&#8221; podcast<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/sTJ7AzBIJoI?si=-uXCVKr_RGQpjrJt\">\u201cEverybody\u2019s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)\u201d <\/a>(Buz Luhrmann)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/alexblocker.com\/\">Alex Blocker<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/7bRJLkNqNXI?si=1giBiRlQqn30TuN2\">&#8220;Will The Circle Be Unbroken&#8221;<\/a> (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ursastory.com\/\">Ursa Story Company<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Show Credits<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-image mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.buzzsprout.com\/2449998\/episodes\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-1024x1024.png\" alt=\"Nieman Storyboard podcast\" class=\"wp-image-15145\" style=\"width:338px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-1536x1536.png 1536w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-2048x2048.png 2048w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-40x40.png 40w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-600x600.png 600w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-180x180.png 180w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-360x360.png 360w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-115x115.png 115w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-230x230.png 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong<br>Associate producer: Marina Leigh<br>Episode editor: Kelly Araja<br>Audience editor: Adriana Lacy<br>Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle<br>Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova<br><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Nieman Foundation curator: Ann Marie Lipinski<br>Deputy curator: Henry Chu<br>Music: \u201cGolden Grass,\u201d by Blue Dot Sessions (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sessions.blue\/\">www.sessions.blue<\/a>)<br>Cover design by Adriana Lacy<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Nieman Storyboard is presented by the <a href=\"https:\/\/nieman.harvard.edu\/\">Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"block block-subscribe full-width\">\n            <h2 class=\"subscribe-title\">Subscribe to Storyboard<\/h2>\n        \n            <div class=\"subscribe-content\">\n            <p>Get insights into the craft of journalism and storytelling in your inbox, delivered on Fridays.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    \n                <div class=\"subscribe-embed\">\n                            <div class=\"mt-5\">\n                 <div translate=\"no\" class='mailmunch-forms-widget-1154494'><\/div>\n\n                <\/div>\n               \n                    <\/div>\n    \n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former Chicago Tribune columnist shares insights into her decades-long experience as a journalist and writer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[443,7],"tags":[429,427,454,425],"topics":[],"authors":[442],"issue":[],"class_list":["post-15349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","category-5-questions","tag-books","tag-documentary","tag-newspapers","tag-podcasts","authors-marina-leigh"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pulitzer winner Mary Schmich&#039;s journey from newspapers to podcasts with \u2018Division Street Revisited\u2019 - Nieman Storyboard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The former Chicago Tribune columnist shares insights into her decades-long experience as a journalist and writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/04\/24\/mary-schmich-podcasts-division-street-revisited\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pulitzer winner Mary Schmich&#039;s journey from newspapers to podcasts with \u2018Division Street Revisited\u2019 - Nieman Storyboard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The former Chicago Tribune columnist shares insights 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