Be first to see this daily news roundup free in your email. Sign up (did we mention free?) here. A quiet place. The Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet reflects on the start of the impeachment trial for President Trump: “The first thing I noticed when I took a seat … was the quiet.” ■ Draconian Senate rules effectively keep reporters from talking to senators during the trial. ■ Trump’s defense team includes veterans…

Get Chicago Public Square first by signing up for free email delivery. Pivotal moment. Politico’s Shia Kapos says Mayor Lightfoot’s lecture on inclusiveness to the City Council yesterday “may be remembered for changing the course of how aldermen do business.” ■ Tens of thousands have viewed the speech on Twitter. ■ Indicted Chicago Ald. …

If you’re not getting my almost-three-year-old Chicago Public Square, the award-winning daily email news briefing Chicago Readers have dubbed Chicago’s best blog, you should sign up (free!) now. Here’s today’s … ‘Jaw-dropping.’ Poynter media critic Tom Jones analyzes a CNN moderator’s misstep in last night’s presidential debate — a question…

In a search today for something I didn’t find, I came across a 40-year-old letter that illustrates a principle students and job-seekers of all ages should bear in mind: When you apply for a job, the experience may be not so much about the job open right now as it…

Late in January, shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, I received a Facebook note from a working mother I’ve known since she was in high school: “Every time I looked at Facebook or Twitter today, terrible things were happening in our government. Is there any news source that is keeping track…

In my more than four decades as a journalist, this never happened to me. Until tonight. I was talking with friends at Chicago’s legendary Billy Goat Tavern about journalism’s mission. The Goat’s a tourist attraction most famous for its inspiration of a Saturday Night Live skit; by virtue of its…

In an online discussion of the Trump presidency, a Facebook friend yesterday echoed what a few others have suggested: That because I dared criticize the president or his followers, I “threw unbiased journalism out with the bathwater.” “I was still under the impression,” she continued, “that you were giving the…

As I’ve been telling anyone who asks (and several who haven’t): Email rules. It’s a direct line from you to your fans (customers, followers, sympathizers, whatever). No Facebook or Twitter algorithms can break it. You control it. And it provides quick and invaluable audience insights. So it’s about time I…

My friend Pete Crozier has launched a remarkably simple website, WeHope.us: “Not asking for money or donations; no contributions other than your hopes and a click of your mouse.” It’s just a curated list of dozens of submissions from “fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, aunts and uncles, grandparents and…