Bruce Andrew Schimmel - Biography

Bruce Schimmel is the founding publisher and former editor of the alternative weekly, 
the Philadelphia City Paper. He currently writes the lead editorial on the paper's
op-ed page --  judged best among weeklies statewide in 2002 by the Pennsylvania 
Newspaper Publisher Association.

Schimmel also produces regular cultural and enterprise radio pieces for WSCL-FM 
(NPR affiliate, Salisbury MD). He is Project Director of "Life on Delmarva," a 75-
part series of audio portraits, underwritten by the National Endowment for the
Humanities through the Delaware Humanities Council. "Life on Delmarva" received a
2003 Golden Reel award from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters.

His radio work has been broadcast nationally on the Pacifica radio network, NPR's 
"All Things Considered," "Living on Earth," and on "Pulse of the Planet." Schimmel 
has received many Associated Press regional awards in nearly every category.
Nationally, he was awarded first place for best feature in 1998 by the Public Radio
News Directors; in 2001, his original science investigation placed second in the
country.

Schimmel founded the Philadelphia City Paper in 1981. City Paper is now the region's 
most widely read weekly, with an audited readership of 450,000. In 1995, Schimmel 
launched City Paper Interactive, Philadelphia's first on-line newspaper.

Started with an initial investment of $15,000 in 1981, City Paper's revenue exceeded 
$3.5 million by 1996, when Schimmel sold the newspaper and interactive service to 
Metroweek (Philadelphia). Schimmel continues to consult with Metroweek 
and other publishers on publishing projects.

Philadelphia City Paper has received many awards for excellence in journalism, 
including a special commendation from the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of 
Commerce for outstanding arts advocacy. Since 1996, the City Paper has been 
selected yearly as the Best Weekly newspaper in the  state by the Pennsylvania 
Newspaper Publishers Association.

In 1984, Schimmel was elected to the Board of Directors of the Greater Philadelphia 
Cultural Alliance. In 1985, he joined the capital fund-raising committee of the Painted 
Bride Art Center. In September 1985, he joined the board of Melanie Stewart and 
Company/Dance. In 1987, he became a founding boardmember of the Foundation for 
Public Performance. In 1989, he participated in Philadelphia Leadership Inc. In 1993, 
he was elected to the board of Delaware Valley's largest AIDS fundraising agency, 
From All Walks of Life (later, The AIDS Fund), whose strategic fundraising plan he 
co-authored.

In 1996, Schimmel founded the Fellowship for Innovative Journalism at the 
University of Rochester, his undergraduate university. He has worked closely with 
Philabundance, the region's largest food rescue organization. Schimmel is listed in 
Marquis' Who's Who in the East.

Before founding the Philadelphia City Paper in 1981, Bruce Schimmel was a Lecturer 
at the University of Pennsylvania in the department of English (1977-81), where he 
was awarded an M.A. (English, 1976) and completed all courses and exams for the 
Ph.D. While teaching at Penn, Schimmel edited Dance Dialogue, served as part-time 
managing editor of the WXPN Express, and wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer and 
the Philadelphia Bulletin. He also produced a weekly radio program on cultural news 
for WXPN-FM.

From his undergraduate university, the University of Rochester, Schimmel graduated 
with honors (B.A., English, 1974), receiving a National Science Foundation Grant in 
his sophomore year for original research in developmental psychology.

Schimmel has taught students from grammar school to graduate school in diverse 
subjects, including women's literature, film criticism, journalism and other non-fiction 
writing. He currently teaches a course in classic French cooking to academically-
gifted teenagers. He has been a mentor in the Big Brother/Big Sister program since 
1999.

Bruce Schimmel, 50, grew up in New York City. An accomplished cook, he practices 
yoga, and pilots gliders and airplanes -- one of which he built. He holds an Instrument
Pilot Rating. Schimmel is married to Deborah Katharine Maskar, principal of Maskar 
Design, Inc. They have homes in Center City, Philadelphia, and in Milton, Delaware.


mailto:bruce@schimmel.com
http://www.schimmel.com

(rev01.03)