Karl E. Meyer (May 22, 1928 – December 22, 2019) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
-based
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
. The third generation of his family to be engaged in that occupation,
[ ] Meyer's grandfather, George Meyer, was the editor of the leading
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
newspaper in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, the ''Germania''; his father, Ernest L. Meyer, was a columnist for ''
The Capital Times
''The Capital Times'' (or ''Cap Times'') is a digital-first newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by The Capital Times Company. The company also owns 50 percent of Capital Newspapers, which now does business as Madison Media Partners. The ot ...
'' in
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
and then the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
''. In 1979, he joined
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 ...
as the senior writer for foreign affairs, a position he held until his retirement in 1998.
Early life and education
Meyer was born in
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
. His career in journalism began while as an undergraduate at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
. During his junior year, he became the editor of ''
The Daily Cardinal
''The Daily Cardinal'' is a student newspaper that serves the University of Wisconsin–Madison community. One of the oldest student newspapers in the country, it began publishing on Monday, April 4, 1892. The newspaper is financially and editoria ...
'', the student newspaper, while serving as the campus correspondent of the ''Milwaukee Journal''. During his senior year, he edited the university literary magazine, ''The Athenaean''. He received his MPA (
Master of Public Affairs
The master of public affairs (M.P.Aff., M.P.A. or MPA) is a master-level professional degree offered in public policy schools that provides training in public policy and the operation of government. Courses required for this degree educate stud ...
) from the
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...
at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
. After being awarded a Proctor Fellowship, he earned a Ph.D. (in politics), also from Princeton University.
Career
After graduation in 1956, his career in foreign affairs began 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 also wrote a weekly column from America for the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
''. Meyer won an Overseas Press Club award for his coverage of
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, and during
the Cuban revolution he interviewed
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
in the
Sierra Maestra
The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The range falls mainly within the Santiago de Cuba and in Granma Provinces. Some view it a ...
. From 1965 to 1970, he was the ''Post''s London bureau chief where he became a weekly regular on
the BBC
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
and a character in the humor magazine ''
Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...
''. In 1968, he covered the
Soviet invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia.
Returning home in 1970, he headed the ''Post''s New York bureau.
Meyer was a television columnist and contributing editor of ''
The Saturday Review'' from 1975 to 1979 and a contributing editor of ''
Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
'' from 1999 to 2005. He joined ''
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 ...
'' editorial board in 1979, where he served until 1998 as the senior writer on foreign affairs and was a frequent contributor to the "Arts and Ideas" section. He was a member of the
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
s Board of Jurors from 1977 to 1983. After his retirement from the ''Times'', Meyer became editor of the ''
World Policy Journal
''World Policy Journal'' was the flagship publication of the World Policy Institute, published by Duke University Press. Focusing on international relations, the publication provided left-wing, non-United States-centric perspectives to world issue ...
'', published quarterly by the World Policy Institute, a position he held until 2008, when he became editor ''emeritus''.
Meyer was a visiting professor at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
,
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
's
Fletcher School
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in its ...
,
Bard College
Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...
, and the McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton. He was a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony's College, Oxford and fellow of
Green College, Oxford
Green Templeton College (GTC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college is located on the previous Green College site on Woodstock Road next to the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in North Oxford and ...
University, the
Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin (german: Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin) is an interdisciplinary institute founded in 1981 in Grunewald, Berlin, Germany, dedicated to research projects in the natural and social sciences. It is modeled ...
, and
Davenport College
Davenport College (colloquially referred to as D'port) is one of the fourteen residential colleges of Yale University. Its buildings were completed in 1933 mainly in the Georgian style but with a gothic façade along York Street. The college wa ...
, Yale. He served as judge for the
Peabodys
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
, the
Pulitzer Prize
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 h ...
, and the
Arnold Toynbee History Prize. He was also a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
and the
Century Association
The Century Association is a private social, arts, and dining club in New York City, founded in 1847. Its clubhouse is located at 7 West 43rd Street near Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It is primarily a club for men and women with distinction ...
.
Works
* with Shareen Blair Brysac.''The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures''. New York: St Martin's Press, 2015.
* with Shareen Blair Brysac. ''Pax Ethnica: Where and How Diversity Succeeds''. New York: Public Affairs, 2012.
* with Shareen Blair Brysac. ''Kingmakers: The Invention of the Modern Middle East''. New York: Norton, 2008.
* ''The Dust of Empire: The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland''. New York: Public Affairs, 2003.
* with Shareen Blair Brysac. ''Tournament of Shadows: The Race for Empire in Central Asia''. Washington, DC: Counterpoint, 1999.
* ''Pundits, Poets and Wits: An Omnibus of American Newspaper Columns''. New York:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1990.
* ''The Art Museum: Power, Money, Ethics: a Twentieth Century Fund Report''. New York: Morrow, 1979.
* ''Teotihuacan''. New York: Newsweek, 1973. .
* ''The Plundered Past''. New York: Atheneum, 1973.
* ''The Pleasures of Archaeology: A Visa to Yesterday''. New York: Atheneum, 1970.
* ''Fulbright of Arkansas: The Public Positions of a Private Thinker''. Washington, DC: R. B. Luce, 1963.
* with Tad Szulc. ''The Cuban Invasion: The Chronicle of a Disaster''. New York: Praeger, 1962.
* ''The New America: Politics and Society in the Age of the Smooth Deal''. New York: Basic Books, 1961.
Personal life
Meyer married
Shareen Blair Brysac
Shareen Blair Brysac is an author of non-fiction books and a former dancer, television producer/director/writer.
Biography
Brysac was born in Denver, Colorado, and graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University. While at Barnard, she atten ...
, with whom he co-authored four books. He had two sons and a daughter.
References
External links
Biography at Pulitzer CenterBiography at World Policy Institute*Obituary by The Guardian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Karl
American male journalists
Writers from Madison, Wisconsin
Journalists from Wisconsin
The New York Times columnists
American people of German descent
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
1937 births
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni
2019 deaths