Desson Patrick Thomson is a former
speechwriter
A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are employed by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors. They can also be ...
for the
Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
and former
film critic
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...
for ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reuniting with his
birth father.
Biography
Thomson attended
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
from 1975 until 1979, graduating in Spring 1980 with a degree in
visual communications and
cinema studies
Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that began in the 1920s by questioning the formal essential attributes of motion pictures; and that now provides conceptual frameworks for und ...
. He started working for ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' in 1983 as a
copy aide for the Style section, and by 1984 was writing
freelance
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
articles for the paper. In 1987 he became a film critic for the paper. He wrote one of the few negative reviews of multiple
Academy award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominated movie ''
The Shawshank Redemption
''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), w ...
.'' In his review of ''
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...
'', he infamously stated that the film "will never be designated a national film treasure by the Library of Congress." Thirteen years later, the film would be inducted into the Library of Congress.
Thomson left the ''Washington Post'' in 2008, and in 2010 became a speechwriter in the administration of President Barack Obama.
From February 2010 until November 2010 he was stationed in London working for the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom,
Louis Susman
Louis B. Susman (born November 19, 1937) is an American lawyer, retired investment banker, and the former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Nominated by President Barack Obama, he was confirmed by the United States Senate, Senate o ...
. In December 2010, he joined the
Policy Planning Office of the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
as a speechwriter for Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
. In February 2012, he became a speechwriter and Senior Advisor for Content Development for the
. Until September 2017 he was a speechwriter and senior advisor for
Charles H. Rivkin,
.
References
The Washington Post people
American University School of Communication alumni
American film critics
Living people
1958 births
20th-century American journalists
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American journalists
21st-century American male writers
American male journalists
American speechwriters
People from Surrey
English emigrants to the United States
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