Tim Mak

Last updated
Tim Mak
BornOctober 24 [1]
Alma mater McGill University
OccupationJournalist
Years active2009-present
EmployerThe Counteroffensive

Tim Mak is an American journalist and editor of the Kyiv-based publication "The Counteroffensive." [2] Previously an investigative correspondent for National Public Radio, [3] he covers national security, politics, and the role of emerging technologies. [3] He is the author of Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA (E. P. Dutton, 2021) about the organization's inner workings. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Career

He graduated as valedictorian from McGill University. [9]

Mak broke the news about convicted Russian agent Maria Butina. [10] After President Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen threatened Mak in an attempt to prevent the publication of a story about Trump, the journalist published the recorded audio of Cohen's threats. [11] [12]

In 2022, Mak obtained recorded audio of then-Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr making a private speech about how devastating the coming COVID-19 pandemic would be, in contrast to his optimistic public messaging. After it was revealed that he sold millions of dollars in stocks around the period he gave this speech, he was investigated for possible insider trading. [13] [14]

He has also written extensively on the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). In 2021, he published secret tapes showing how the organization's executives reacted in strategy sessions following the Columbine High School massacre. [15]

He covered the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine from within the country, having arrived the night the invasion began. [16] [3] His investigations in Ukraine include tracking down the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, [17] the unit which shot down MH-17; and investigating a war crime in the town of Nova Basan. [18]

In May 2023, he launched The Counteroffensive, a newsletter that uses narrative journalism and personal experiences from Ukraine during the Russian invasion, and in other places where people face challenges from authoritarianism. He told Slate magazine that he wants to tell "deeply-reported human interest stories that humanize events." [2]

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<i>Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA</i> 2021 book by Tim Mak

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References

  1. ↑ Politico Staff. "BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Tim Mak, reporter for NPR's Washington desk". POLITICO.
  2. 1 2 "The Accidental War Correspondent". Slate. 2 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Tim Mak : NPR". NPR . Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  4. ↑ "Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA" . Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  5. ↑ "Book Deals: Week of May 20, 2019". Publishers Weekly.
  6. ↑ Rosen, Jacob (12 November 2021). "NPR's Tim Mak on the NRA's troubles — "The Takeout"". CBS News. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Kaiser, Charles (6 November 2021). "Misfire review: a bullseye from Tim Mak – but the NRA isn't beaten yet". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  8. ↑ "POLITICO Playbook". Politico.
  9. ↑ "McGill Arts Class of 2009 Valedictory Address - Timothy Mak". 2 June 2009 – via YouTube.
  10. ↑ "Nothing fake about it". mcgillnews.mcgill.ca. 11 January 2019.
  11. ↑ Zadrozny, Brandy; Mak, Tim (28 July 2015). "Ex-Wife: Donald Trump Made Me Feel 'Violated' During Sex". The Daily Beast– via www.thedailybeast.com.
  12. ↑ "LISTEN: How Michael Cohen Protects Trump By Making Legal Threats". NPR.org. 31 May 2018. Archived from the original on 31 May 2018.
  13. ↑ "Secret recording captures GOP Sen. Burr issuing a dire warning about coronavirus to a private club, while publicly conservatives and Trump downplayed the threat". Business Insider . Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  14. ↑ Harris, Mary (18 May 2020). "What Richard Burr Actually Did". Slate . Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  15. ↑ "A secret tape made after Columbine shows the NRA's evolution on school shootings". NPR . Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  16. ↑ "After months of escalation, Russia has begun an invasion of Ukraine". NPR . Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  17. ↑ "NPR investigates Russia's notorious 53rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade". NPR .
  18. ↑ Mak, Tim (10 December 2022). "There have been 50,000 alleged war crimes in Ukraine. We worked to solve one". NPR . Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
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