Bill Kovach ( sq, Bill Kovaçi, born 1932) is an American journalist, former Washington bureau chief of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', former editor of the '' Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', and co-author of the book ''The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and The Public Should Expect''.

Biography

Born in 1932 in East Tennessee to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n parents, Kovach planned, after attending college at

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

, to go to graduate school in marine biology. After four years in the U.S. Navy, a summer job at the ''Johnson City Press Chronicle'' in

Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. Joh ...

persuaded him to go into journalism. Kovach covered the civil rights movement, politics and Appalachian poverty for the ''

Nashville Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

'' from 1960 to 1967. In 1965, he was involved in a fight for public access to the legislature, when he refused to leave a committee hearing following a call for executive session. The state senate passed a resolution revoking his floor privileges. ''The Tennessean'' and editor John Seigenthaler, Sr. led a successful fight to open the legislative chambers. After Kovach spent a year at Stanford University on a journalism fellowship, Scotty Reston of ''

'' Washington bureau hired him in 1968, and he spent 18 years there, including serving as its Washington bureau chief. After a tempestuous two-year tenure as editor of the '' Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', when his staff won two

Pulitzer Prizes The Pulitzer Prize () is an award 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 ...

and were finalists for several others, Kovach moved on to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1989 as a fellow, then curator, of the

Nieman Foundation The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University is the primary journalism institution at Harvard. It was founded in February 1938 as the result of a $1.4 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of ...

for Journalism. He retired from Harvard in 2001 and returned to Washington, where he is senior counselor to the Project for Excellence in Journalism. Kovach is the North American representative and chair of the ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists) Advisory Committee. He also serves on the faculty of the Missouri School of Journalism.

Awards

In 2000, Kovach received the

Elijah Parish Lovejoy Elijah Parish Lovejoy (November 9, 1802 – November 7, 1837) was an American Presbyterianism, Presbyterian Minister (Christianity), minister, journalist, Editing, newspaper editor, and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. Followin ...

Award as well as an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

degree from

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philant ...

. In 2007, he received an honorary doctorate from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

. He founded the Committee of Concerned Journalists, which worked to increase the quality of journalism. Besides ''The Elements of Journalism'', Kovach is a co-author of ''Warp Speed: America in the Age of Mixed Media'' and ''Blur: How to Know What's True in the Age of Information Overload'', all with

Tom Rosenstiel Tom Rosenstiel is an American author, journalist, press critic, researcher and academic. He is the Eleanor Merrill Visiting Professor on the Future of Journalism at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. He was fo ...

. In 2002, when it was discovered that ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' reporter Jack Kelley had fabricated some of his stories, ''USA Today'' turned to Kovach, along with veteran editors

Bill Hilliard William Arthur Hilliard (May 28, 1927 – January 16, 2017) was an American journalist. He was editor of ''The Oregonian'', the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, from 1987 to 1994 and was that newspaper's first African-American edito ...

and

John Seigenthaler Sr. John Lawrence Seigenthaler ( ; July 27, 1927 – July 11, 2014) was an American journalist, writer, and political figure. He was known as a prominent defender of First Amendment rights. Seigenthaler joined the Nashville newspaper ''The ...

, to monitor the investigation.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

"'USA Today' Probe Finds Kelley Faked Stories"
, '' Editor & Publisher'', 19 March 2004

References

External links

* *Paula Devlin (2001)
Profile of a Journalist
*Tracy Thompson. A Newsroom Hero - journalist Bill Kovach. ''

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alterna ...

'', May 2000.
Biography from Boston UniversityBaccalaureate address by Bill Kovach at Boston University, 2007.
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovach, Bill American people of Albanian descent 1932 births Living people Stanford University alumni Nieman Fellows 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male journalists Journalists from Tennessee Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award recipients The New York Times editors The Atlanta Journal-Constitution people 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers