Theo Baker

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Theo Baker
Born2004or2005(age 19–20)
Organization The Stanford Daily
Parents

Theo Baker (born 2004 or 2005) is an American investigative journalist for The Stanford Daily , the student newspaper of Stanford University. [1] In 2023, he became the youngest recipient of the George Polk Award for his reporting that led to the resignation of Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne. [1] [2]

Contents

Reporting

As a freshman reporter at The Stanford Daily, Baker began publishing stories in November 2022 about accusations that Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne had altered images used in research papers, leading to a formal investigation from the university. [3] [4] Baker learned about the accusations through the scientific review website PubPeer and brought them to scientific integrity expert Elisabeth Bik. [3] A lawyer representing Tessier-Lavigne sent letters to Baker, describing his reporting as "replete with falsehoods". [5]

In July 2023, the final university report found that Tessier-Lavigne's research "fell below customary standards of scientific rigor and process" but did not constitute fraud. [6] Baker subsequently published another story that the investigating panel did not grant some witnesses anonymity, so they were unable to testify because of active non-disclosure agreements. [3] Tessier-Lavigne announced his resignation as Stanford's president on July 19, 2023, with multiple major news outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post , characterizing it as a direct result of The Stanford Daily stories. [6] [7]

In late March 2024, an article by Baker, titled 'The War at Stanford,' was published in The Atlantic . [8] The article discussed the response of Stanford University to the October 7 Attack, arguing that the attack was not adequately condemned. Similarly, Baker asserted that pro-Palestine students' rhetoric led to antisemitism and created a culture of fear for Jews on campus. [8] The article also mentioned an instance where a Stanford student allegedly advocated for violence against President Biden, [9] an action some, like journalist Glenn Greenwald, denounced as a form of doxxing. [10] The article was criticized by others on the basis of its portrayal of student protestors, alleging a biased narrative ignoring islamophobia and the plight of Palestinians. [11] Jonathan Chait later published a piece in New York Magazine responding to this criticism, suggesting progressive attacks were motivated by viewpoint outside the mainstream and that critics were espousing "illiberal left-wing thought." [12]

Awards

In February 2023, The Stanford Daily received one of the 2022 George Polk Awards for its reporting on Tessier-Lavigne, the first time an independent, student-run newspaper has won the award. [13] [14] The Polk Awards gave Baker a "Special Award", making him the youngest ever Polk awardee. [1] [14] He has also received a James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. [2]

Personal life

Baker is from the Washington, D.C., area [3] and is the son of journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. [15] He is a graduate of Phillips Academy Andover. [16]

Baker is often portrayed as a "nepo baby", benefitting from the status of his parents in the journalistic world. [17] He denounced the criticisms, saying while he was fortunate to have good role models, he strived to keep his parents' influence "entirely separate" from his reporting. [18] Baker told Teen Vogue that he had previously said he would never become a journalist but changed his mind to "feel connected to [his] late grandfather, who passed just two weeks before [he] started at Stanford, and who would always sit down and talk about his time doing student journalism." [19]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Robertson, Katie (February 20, 2023). "New York Times Wins 3 Polk Awards". The New York Times . Retrieved July 21, 2023. A special award was given to Theo Baker, a student at Stanford University and a reporter for The Stanford Daily, for uncovering allegations that some research papers co-written by Stanford University's president, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, contained manipulated images. The university is now investigating the allegations. Mr. Baker, 18, is the son of two journalists — Peter Baker of The New York Times and Susan B. Glasser of The New Yorker, and is the youngest recipient of a Polk Award, according to Mr. Darnton.
  2. 1 2 Tucker, Jill (July 19, 2023). "Meet the Stanford student whose reporting led to resignation of president Marc Tessier-Lavigne". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Purtill, Corinne (July 21, 2023). "Q&A: How this Stanford freshman brought down the president of the university". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  4. ↑ Allen, Barbara (December 11, 2022). "The Stanford University president is under investigation, and student journalists are a large part of the reason why". Poynter. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  5. ↑ Luna, Itzel (July 28, 2023). "The Resignation of Stanford's President Shows the Importance of Student Journalism". ISSN   0027-8378 . Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Saul, Stephanie (July 19, 2023). "Stanford President Will Resign After Report Found Flaws in His Research". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  7. ↑ Svrluga, Susan; Stripling, Jack (July 19, 2023). "Stanford president will resign after questions about research". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Baker, Theo (March 26, 2024). "The War at Stanford". The Atlantic .
  9. ↑ Clark, Jeffrey (March 26, 2024). "Stanford student called for Biden's assassination for advancing 'genocide' of Palestinians, classmate claims". Fox News.
  10. ↑ Greenwald, Glenn. "The Atlantic Doxes Pro-Palestine Students w/ Nepo Baby, Theo Baker". YouTube.
  11. ↑ Lennard, Natasha. "Pro-Israel Advocates Are Weaponizing "Safety" on College Campuses". The Intercept.
  12. ↑ Chait, Jonathan (March 28, 2024). "Does the Left Think Young Left-Wing Protesters Matter or Not?". Intelligencer.
  13. ↑ Jones, Tom (July 20, 2023). "A Stanford student paper's excellent work leads to a major resignation". Poynter. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Sze, Kristen (July 20, 2023). "Stanford freshman's determined reporting leads to investigation, president's resignation". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  15. ↑ Asimov, Nanette (February 17, 2023). "Student paper: Scientists say study by Stanford president contained false data". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  16. ↑ Bonos, Lisa (July 30, 2023). "Meet the student who helped boot the president of Stanford". Washington Post. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  17. ↑ Tucker, Jill. "Meet the Stanford student whose reporting led to resignation of president Marc Tessier-Lavigne". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  18. ↑ Hall, Ellie (March 9, 2023). "This 18-Year-Old College Journalist Could Bring Down Stanford University's President". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  19. ↑ Retta, Mary (July 21, 2023). "This Stanford Freshman's Reporting Brought Down the School President". Teen Vogue . Retrieved July 28, 2023.
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