Phil Rosenthal, the Chicago Tribune's media columnist, has been a working journalist since 17, when he talked his way into a regular freelance gig with the Waukegan News-Sun while still in high school.

As he earned his journalism degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Rosenthal covered sports, spot news and media for The Capital Times in Madison, Wis. He spent 11 years at Los Angeles' Daily News, first as a sports writer, then TV critic and ultimately as a columnist whose work was nationally distributed by the New York Times News Service. He returned to his hometown and joined the Chicago Sun-Times in 1996, serving as deputy sports editor, sports columnist and TV critic. He moved to Tribune to cover media in 2005.

No. He didn't know what was about to happen, or how quickly.

Career highlights include modeling swimsuits for Sports Illustrated supermodel Vendela, getting a manicure from Lorena Bobbitt, chatting up David Letterman, smoking cigars with Jack Paar and introducing his mother to Johnny Carson.

Rosenthal is virtually certain no one actually reads biographies all the way through, and would be flattered you made it this far.

An award-winning journalist, he once saved the life of one of his three brothers and may have been kicked off Lake Forest High School's newspaper. He was an extra in the Oscar-winning movie "Ordinary People" and, although it appears he wound up on the cutting-room floor, he did get paid and fed and can claim to be just two degrees from Kevin Bacon.

Rosenthal is married and has two young children who don't yet read his column but recognize his picture in the paper. They are not yet embarrassed to be related to him.

Rosenthal Field in north suburban Lake Bluff is named for Rosenthal's late father, a former youth baseball coach and elementary school board member, not him.

Phil's column appears in the Business section Sundays, Wednesdays and whenever events warrant, which occurs more often than you might think.

Shift from Schwinn to SRAM mirrors change in bicycle business 5/19/2013
Schwinn is no longer the Chicago-based bicycle giant it was, but the city is home to SRAM, whose high-end bike components are produced by a global network of facilities John Nedeau rides his bike to work when he can. He has a good bike. He's a good rider. He works for a company called SRAM. Its global headquarters on Chicago's North Side is a long way from his home in suburban Lake Bluff, but Nedeau averages about 30 mph. The cars he passes in Evanston, he almost always beats into the city. ...

Rosenthal: Restaurants don't recede in recession, but appetites change 5/12/2013
Fewer customers didn't bring an end to expansion If you want to assess America's economic health, you can do worse than examining Americans' appetite for eating at or taking out from restaurants. We are as we eat.        

Rosenthal: The worst of a job seeker's past is often just a few clicks away 5/8/2013
Curiously, some employers, business partners and others don't — sometimes can't — always do an adequate job of looking for a muddy trail "The past is never dead. It's not even past," William Faulkner wrote more than 60 years ago, long before the sound and the fury of online chatter and the Internet's capacity for keeping one's personal history ever-present and unburied.        

Rosenthal: Health and hypocrisy at the drugstore 5/5/2013
Cigarette sales undercut large chains' claims of supporting wellness You now can go to a Walgreens and get examined by a medical professional. Maybe your blood pressure is a little high, or you've suffered from asthma for years. Walgreens has prescription and over-the-counter medications for you.        

Rosenthal: Rejuvenation of South Side the fair thing to do 5/1/2013
Redevelopment plans for old U.S. Steel site and Michael Reese Hospital among highlights of proposed efforts President Grover Cleveland pressed an electric switch, powering the pumps for massive fountains. The jets of water in turn cued the unfurling of flags. What was described as "profound silence" gave way to a cacophony, and the World's Columbian Exposition officially opened a few minutes past noon on May 1, 1893.