Judith Matloff

Last updated

Judith Matloff
BornNew York City
OccupationJournalist, author, media safety advocate
NationalityAmerican
Education Harvard-Radcliffe, 1981
Notable worksNo Friends but the Mountains
Home Girl
Fragments of a Forgotten War
Notable awards Fulbright (twice)
Relatives Maurice Matloff (uncle)
Website
judithmatloff.com

Judith Matloff (born March 25, 1958) is an American writer, journalism professor and media safety advocate. Her books are How to Drag a Body and Other Safety Tips You Hope to Never Need (2020), No Friends but the Mountains (2017), Home Girl (2008), and Fragments of a Forgotten War (1997).

Contents

She teaches conflict reporting at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and previously served as the Africa and Moscow bureau chief for the Christian Science Monitor. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine and Book Review, The Economist, the Financial Times , Newsweek, the Sunday Telegraph, the Dallas Morning News and Columbia Journalism Review , among other places.

Early life and education

Judith Matloff was born in New York City to social workers Lawrence and Hildegarde Matloff. Lawrence eventually became an executive director of the Y.M.-Y.W.H.A. of Greater Flushing and executive vice president of Selfhelp Community Services, an agency for older people in the city founded to help victims of Nazi Germany who settled in the U.S. Educated at Hunter College High School, Judith attended Harvard-Radcliffe College, writing for The Harvard Crimson and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1981. [1] She has one sister. [2]

Career

She began her career reporting for UPI and the Mexico City News in the early 1980s. Writing mainly about areas of turmoil abroad, Matloff then served as a staff foreign correspondent for two decades, for various bureaus for Reuters and then as the Africa and Moscow bureau chief of the Christian Science Monitor. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, [2] The Economist, Financial Times, and Newsweek, [3] among others.

Matloff has pioneered safety training for journalists around the world. [4] She has consulted for NBC, the United Nations, Society of Professional Journalists, Columbia University's Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, International News Safety Institute, [5] the State Department, UT Austin's Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, DCTV, [6] the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and outside the United States: Mexico City-based reporting network Periodistas de a Pié, [7] Mexico-based human rights group Cencos, BRITDOC, and the Canadian Association of Journalists. [3]

Fragments of a Forgotten War

In 1997, she published Fragments of a Forgotten War, a damning account of Angola's slide back into civil war in 1992, drawing on first-hand reporting in Africa as a staff correspondent for Reuters. The book argued that in its rush to end Cold War proxy wars on the continent, the international community steered the country into a presidential election prematurely, and then failed to respond robustly when rebel leader Jonas Savimbi rejected his defeat and returned to the bush. BBC correspondent Fergal Keane called Matloff "one of the most astute observers of Africa" and said the book "should be read by anybody who cares about humanity." [8]

Home Girl: Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block

In 2008, she published a memoir about starting a family after her return to New York in a fixer-upper brownstone in West Harlem. The purchase of the building was an impulse buy—it turns out to have once been a crack house and that the street is controlled by a narcotics dealer—and she and her husband must charm lax construction workers, bold drug dealers and strange neighbors in one of the country's biggest drug zones. Matloff focuses not on herself or even the house, but, as the Kirkus Reviews says "her thrilling, problem-plagued neighborhood, colorfully portrayed in terms that are neither frightened nor naive." The book received mainly positive reviews, with the Library Journal and Rocky Mountain News praising Matloff's storytelling skills, the Tucson Citizen calling the book "hugely entertaining." [9]

No Friends but the Mountains: Dispatches from the World’s Violent Highlands

In this 2017 book, Matloff explores why mountains are home to 10 percent of the world’s population yet host a strikingly disproportionate share of the world’s conflicts. She traveled 72,000 miles over five continents to investigate the geographic link between, among others, Albanian blood feuds, separatist struggles in Dagestan and Kashmir, and Mexican vigilante squads facing down narcotics cartels. She explores military solutions while with NATO troops in the Arctic and American mountain soldiers, to conclude that autonomy is the best approach. Matloff advances the argument, hailed by the author Robert Kaplan as "original", that the physical remoteness creates existential alienation as well, and that Switzerland's canton system presents a promising model for avoiding conflict. The book received starred reviews by Publishers Weekly and Booklist . The latter called it "impressive and necessary… Matloff approaches her topic with a magic combination of wisdom and empathy, and it is impossible to not be moved." Dean of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism Steve Coll described the book as "classical international journalism of the highest order." [10]

How to Drag a Body and Other Safety Tips You Hope to Never Need

In her 2020 book, Matloff gives practical advice earned from her years of experience on everything from constructing a bunker to preventing bank fraud to staying clean in a shelter. The humorously written book received praise from Booklist and Bust magazine with the former calling it "a sobering, useful guide to dealing with ever-more prevalent problems." [4] [11] [12] The writer Gretchen Rubin wrote of it, "extremely practical, laugh-out-loud funny, and somehow very comforting." while Sebastian Junger wrote "If you’re going to read one book to prepare for the unthinkable, read this one." [4]

Awards

Associations

Family

Matloff's grandparents came to the US to flee the pogroms of Russia. [20] Her uncle, Maurice, was chief historian of the US Army from 1970 to 1981 and author of Strategic Planning and Coalition Warfare and co-author of American Military History. [21]

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize</span> Award for achievements in journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States

The Pulitzer Prize is an award administered by Columbia University for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fortune as a newspaper publisher. Prizes are awarded annually in twenty-one categories. In twenty of the categories, each winner receives a certificate and a US$15,000 cash award. The winner in the public service category is awarded a gold medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nellie Bly</span> American investigative journalist (1864–1922)

Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist, who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she worked undercover to report on a mental institution from within. She was a pioneer in her field and launched a new kind of investigative journalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alma Guillermoprieto</span> Mexican journalist

Alma Guillermoprieto is a Mexican journalist. She has written extensively about Latin America for the British and American press, especially The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books. Her writings have also been widely disseminated within the Spanish-speaking world and she has published eight books in both English and Spanish, and been translated into several more languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Miller</span> American journalist and commentator

Judith Miller is an American journalist and commentator known for her coverage of Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) program both before and after the 2003 invasion, which was later discovered to have been based on inaccurate information from the intelligence community. She worked in The New York Times' Washington bureau before joining Fox News in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Mayer</span> American journalist

Jane Meredith Mayer is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1995. She has written for the publication about money in politics; government prosecution of whistleblowers; the United States Predator drone program; Donald Trump's ghostwriter, Tony Schwartz; and Trump's financial backer, Robert Mercer. In 2016, Mayer's book Dark Money — in which she investigated the history of the conservative fundraising Koch brothers — was published to critical acclaim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neerja Bhanot</span> Indian flight attendant and a recipient of Ashoka Chakra

Neerja Bhanot was an Indian purser who died while saving passengers on Pan Am Flight 73 which had been hijacked by terrorists from a terrorist organization during a stopover in Karachi, Pakistan, on 5 September 1986, just two days before her 23rd birthday. Posthumously, she became and remains the youngest recipient of India's highest peacetime gallantry award, the Ashoka Chakra, as well as several other accolades from the governments of Pakistan and the United States. She was shot while trying to save 3 children from the plane. Her life and heroism inspired the 2016 biopic Neerja directed by Ram Madhvani and starring Indian actress Sonam Kapoor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Aristegui</span> Mexican journalist

María del Carmen Aristegui Flores is a Mexican journalist and anchorwoman. She is widely regarded as one of Mexico's leading journalists and opinion leaders, and is best known for her critical investigations of the Mexican government. She is the anchor of the news program Aristegui on CNN en Español, and writes regularly for the opinion section of the periodical Reforma. In March 2015, she was illegally fired from MVS Radio 102.5 FM in Mexico City following a report on the conflict of interests by then Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, with a state contractor who would have built a millionaire residence for the mandatory and his family. She manages her own news website and hosts an online morning newscast, which is also broadcast on Grupo Radio Centro's XERC-FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Ressa</span> Filipino-American journalist and Nobel laureate (born 1963)

Maria Angelita Ressa is a Filipino-American journalist and the first Filipino Nobel Peace laureate. She is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia for CNN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia McCormick (author)</span> American author and journalist

Patricia McCormick is an American journalist and writer of realistic fiction for young adults. She has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Lamb</span> British journalist and author

Christina Lamb OBE is a British journalist and author. She is the chief foreign correspondent of The Sunday Times.

Lisa Smedman is a science fiction and fantasy author and journalist. Her novel Extinction, set in the Forgotten Realms universe, was a New York Times bestseller. Smedman first became known for gaming adventure novels, and later published her own independent fantasy novels.

Leslie Cockburn is an American investigative journalist, and filmmaker. Her investigative television segments have aired on CBS, NBC, PBS Frontline, and 60 Minutes. She has won an Emmy Award, The Hillman Prize, Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award, Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and the George Polk Award.

Barbara Demick is an American journalist. She was the Beijing bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times. She is the author of Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo Neighborhood. Her second book, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, was published by Spiegel & Grau/Random House in December 2009 and Granta Books in 2010. An animated feature film based on the book and sharing the same title was planned to be directed by Andy Glynne. The project launched in 2012 and a pilot was released in 2015. Its status as of January 2018 is not clear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Shulevitz</span> American journalist

Judith Shulevitz is an American journalist, editor and culture critic. She has been a columnist for Slate, The New York Times Book Review, and The New Republic. She is a contributing writer for The Atlantic.

<i>The Bang Bang Club</i> (film) 2010 film

The Bang Bang Club is a 2010 Canadian-South African biographical drama film written and directed by Steven Silver and stars Ryan Phillippe as Greg Marinovich, Malin Åkerman as Robin Comley, Taylor Kitsch as Kevin Carter, Frank Rautenbach as Ken Oosterbroek and Neels Van Jaarsveld as João Silva. They portray the lives of four photojournalists active within the townships of South Africa during the apartheid period, particularly between 1990 and 1994, from when Nelson Mandela was released from prison to the 1994 elections.

<i>The Bang-Bang Club</i> (book)

The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden War is a 2000 autobiographical styled text about the Bang-Bang Club, a group of four South African photographers active within the townships of South Africa during the apartheid period, particularly between 1990 and 1994. The journalists were Kevin Carter, Greg Marinovich, Ken Oosterbroek, and João Silva. The book was co-authored by two of the journalists, Marinovich and Silva.

Jacky Rowland is a former broadcast journalist. She was formerly a foreign correspondent with the BBC and a Senior Correspondent for Al Jazeera English. She has won awards for her reporting for both broadcasters.

Elizabeth H. McGowan is an American journalist and author. With David Hasemyer and Lisa Song, McGowan won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for their report on the Kalamazoo River oil spill.

Aisha Salaudeen is a Nigerian multimedia journalist, feminist, producer, and writer who currently works with the CNN. In November 2020, she was awarded the Future Awards Africa Prize for Journalism for her work covering stories in Africa. She was a guest speaker at the Ake Arts and Book Festival 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Rautenbach</span> South African actor and producer

Leon Francois Rautenbach, popularly known as Frank Rautenbach, is a South African actor and producer. He is best known for the roles in the films Faith Like Potatoes, The Bang Bang Club and biographical film Hansie: A True Story.

References

  1. ↑ Marshall, Virginia (February 5, 2013). "Revolutionary Journalism". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Obituaries:Lawrence Matloff, Administrator, 62". The New York Times. November 4, 1988. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Judith Matloff". Columbia Journalism School website. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "How to Drag a Body and Other Safety Tips You Hope to Never Need Survival Tricks for Hacking, Hurricanes, and Hazards Life Might Throw at You". HarperCollins. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ "INSI advisor to speak at UN event on World Press Freedom Day". INSI. April 25, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Workshop>instructors: Judith Matloff". DCTV website. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  7. ↑ "INSI North America launches course for journalists covering risk areas in Mexico". INSI. January 30, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  8. ↑ "New Books from Africa, 12/97". africa.upenn.edu. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 "Home Girl: Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block". Penguin Random House website. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Book Event: No Friends But The Mountains – Dispatches From The World's Violent Highlands". Overseas Press Club of America .
  11. ↑ Ciesla, Carolyn. "Booklist Review: How to Drag a Body and Other Safety Tips You Hope to Never Need: Survival Tricks for Hacking, Hurricanes, and Hazards Life Might Throw at You". Booklist.
  12. ↑ http://judithmatloff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/drag121.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  13. ↑ "Matloff, Judith". MacArthur Foundation website. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Funded Reporting Fellowships". SAJA website. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  15. ↑ "2008 Annual Report" (PDF). hoover.org. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Fulbright Scholar List: Judith Matloff" . Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Logan Nonfiction Program: Judith Matloff". Carey Institute for Global Good.
  18. ↑ "Current Members". pen.org. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Over 900 Authors Sign Open Letter to Amazon". Publishers Weekly. August 6, 2014.
  20. ↑ Matloff, Judith (September 2, 2009). "Stirring Up the Past". New York Times Magazine.
  21. ↑ "Chief Historian Maurice Matloff Dies". The Washington Post. July 17, 1993. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Books: The war is in the mountains". Duckworth Overlook Press website. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Books By Alums". HCHS Alumnae/i Association website. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.