Eugene Robinson (journalist)

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Eugene Robinson
Eugene Robinson by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Robinson in 2016
Born
Eugene Harold Robinson

(1954-03-12) March 12, 1954 (age 71)
Orangeburg, South Carolina, U.S.
Education University of Michigan (BA)
Occupation Journalist
Notable credit(s) The Washington Post
San Francisco Chronicle
SpouseAvis [1]

Eugene Harold Robinson (born March 12, 1954) is an American newspaper columnist, former associate editor of The Washington Post , author, and chief political analyst. His columns were syndicated to 262 newspapers by The Washington Post Writers Group . He won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009, was elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board in 2011 [2] and served as its chair from 2017 to 2018. [3] Robinson is chief political analyst at NBC News and MS NOW.

Contents

Robinson is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and a board member of the IWMF (International Women's Media Foundation). [4] His wife Avis died on October 28, 2023, after a short battle with cancer.

Biography

Early years and education

Robinson was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina and attended Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, where he "was one of a handful of black students on a previously all-white campus." [5]

Before graduating from the University of Michigan in 1974, he was the first African American co-editor-in-chief of The Michigan Daily . [5] During the 1987–88 academic year, he was a mid-career Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. [6] [7]

Career

In 1976, he began his journalism career at the San Francisco Chronicle ; his early assignments included the trial of publishing heiress Patty Hearst. He joined The Washington Post in 1980. Working his way up through the ranks, he was first a city hall reporter at the paper. He then became the assistant city editor; a South America correspondent based in Buenos Aires, Argentina; London bureau chief; foreign editor; and, most recently, the assistant managing editor of the paper's Style section. He began writing columns for the opinion page of the paper in 2005, also writes a twice-a-week column on politics and culture, and conducts a weekly online conversation with readers.

Robinson appears frequently as a liberal political analyst [8] on MSNBC cable-TV network's programs such as Morning Joe , PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton , The Rachel Maddow Show , The 11th Hour , and Andrea Mitchell Reports . In addition, he is often a panelist on NBC's public affairs program Meet the Press .

Robinson was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in recognition of his columns that focused on then-Senator Barack Obama in the context of his first presidential campaign. [9]

Robinson is a 2021 honoree of the Larry Foster Award for Integrity in Public Communication, [10] a recognition from The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication. He is a part of the fifth class of Larry Foster Award honorees, which honors professionals who "exemplify the importance of truthful communication with the public." [11]

In March 2022, Robinson was interviewed for the Frontline documentary Putin's Road to War, where he discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [12]

Robinson resigned from The Washington Post in April 2025. [13]

Books

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Presentation by Robinson on Coal to Cream, September 7, 1999, C-SPAN
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Booknotes interview with Robinson on Coal to Cream, November 7, 1999, C-SPAN
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Presentation by Robinson on Last Dance in Havana, July 20, 2004, C-SPAN
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Presentation by Robinson on Disintegration, October 16, 2010, C-SPAN
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Presentation by Robinson on Disintegration, September 24, 2011, C-SPAN
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Interview with Robinson on Disintegration, September 24, 2011, C-SPAN

References

  1. ↑ Robinson, Eugene (August 16, 2022). "My dinner with Salman Rushdie". Washington Post. p. A23. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  2. ↑ "Pulitzer Prize Board 2010-2011". pulitzer.org.
  3. ↑ "Pulitzer Prize Board 2017-2018". pulitzer.org.
  4. ↑ "IWMF website". Archived from the original on August 4, 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Washington Post's Eugene Robinson Elected Chair of Pulitzer Prize Board". 10 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Robinson, Eugene 1954- - Dictionary definition of Robinson, Eugene 1954- - Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary". encyclopedia.com.
  7. ↑ "Eugene Robinson, NF '88". niemanreports.org. 2 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "State of the News Media - Pew Research Center". stateofthemedia.org. 19 March 2012.
  9. ↑ Howard Kurtz (April 20, 2009). "Post's Robinson Wins Commentary Pulitzer". The Washington Post.
  10. ↑ "Fauci, Woodruff, Robinson and Heyman headline 2021 Page Center Awards". www.bellisario.psu.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  11. ↑ "Fauci, Woodruff, Robinson and Heyman headline 2021 Page Center Awards". www.bellisario.psu.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  12. ↑ Putin's Road to War: Eugene Robinson (interview) | FRONTLINE. March 13, 2022.
  13. ↑ Bauder, David (April 4, 2025). "Longtime Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson is leaving. He cited Bezos' new editorial policy". AP News. Retrieved April 4, 2025.

Further reading

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