Martin Baron (born October 24, 1954) is an American journalist who was editor of ''
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 ...
'' from December 31, 2012, until his retirement on February 28, 2021. He was previously the editor of ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' from 2001 to 2012.
Baron achieved heightened prominence in 2015 and 2016 from his portrayal in the film ''
Spotlight
Spotlight or spot light may refer to:
Lighting
* Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps
* Spotlight (theatre lighting)
* Spotlight, a searchlight
* Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types
Art, entertainment, an ...
'' and his involvement in the release of
Jason Rezaian
Jason Rezaian ( fa, جیسون رضائیان; born on March 16, 1976) is an Iranian-American journalist who served as Tehran news bureau, bureau chief for ''The Washington Post''. He was convicted of espionage in a closed-door trial in Iran in 2 ...
, the
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
bureau chief
A news bureau is an office for gathering or distributing news. Similar terms are used for specialized bureaus, often to indicate a geographic location or scope of coverage: a ‘Tokyo bureau’ refers to a given news operation's office in Tokyo; ' ...
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 ...
,'' who was released in January 2016 after being imprisoned in Iran for 18 months.
Early life and education
Baron was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
. His parents immigrated from
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. He attended
Berkeley Preparatory School
Berkeley Preparatory School is a Pre-K to Grade 12 independent, college-preparatory day school affiliated to the Episcopal Church located in Tampa, Florida, in the United States. On this 86-acre campus some of the notable features include: a 7 ...
and worked on the school's student paper. He matriculated at
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...
where he was editor of ''The Brown and White'' student newspaper. He earned both a
bachelor of arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
and
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
with honors in four years, graduating in 1976.
He had received special permission to take graduate classes as an undergraduate. Baron is fluent in Spanish.
Career
In 1976, after graduation, Baron began working for ''
The Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.[The Los Angeles Times
''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 ...]
'' in 1979, and to ''
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 ...
'' in 1996.
[Holmes, Baxter (November 24, 2015).]
Is Martin Baron the Best News Editor of All Time?
. ''Esquire''. esquire.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017. He returned to the ''Herald'' as executive editor in 2000 and led coverage of numerous key stories, including
Elián González
Elián González Brotons (born December 6, 1993) is a Cuban technician who, as a child, became embroiled in a heated international custody and immigration controversy in 2000 involving the governments of Cuba and the United States, his father Ju ...
's return to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and the
2000 election.
In July 2001, Baron succeeded
Matthew V. Storin
Matthew Victor Storin (born December 24, 1942) is an American journalist who served as editor of ''The Boston Globe'' from 1993 to 2001.
Biography Career
Storin was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, and earned a degree in sociology ...
as executive editor of ''The Boston Globe''. His editorial term at the ''Globe'' shifted the paper's coverage from international events toward locally centered
investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...
. The ''Globe''s coverage of the
Boston Catholic sexual abuse scandal earned it a
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 ...
in 2003.
In 2012, Baron was inducted into the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
.
''The Washington Post''
In January 2013, Baron took over as executive editor of ''
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 ...
'', succeeding
Marcus Brauchli
Marcus W. Brauchli (born June 19, 1961) is a journalist, media investor and advisor. He is co-founder, along with Saša Vučinič, of North Base Media, an investment firm specialized in media and technology in global growth markets, and has served ...
. In 2014, the ''Post'' won two Pulitzer Prizes, one in the category of public service for revelations of secret surveillance by the
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...
and the other for explanatory journalism about
food stamps in America. The next year, it won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for its coverage of security lapses in the
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
; in 2016, it won the Pulitzer Prize in the category of national reporting for a groundbreaking project that chronicled every killing by a police officer in 2015. The next year, it won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for exposing
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's claims of charitable giving and the
Access Hollywood tape. In 2018, it won two Pulitzer Prizes, one in the category of investigative reporting for revealing
allegations of sexual misconduct by Roy Moore and the other for national reporting on Russian interference in the
2016 presidential election.
Baron supervised the writing team, including co-authors
Michael Kranish
Michael Kranish is an American author and former correspondent with ''The Boston Globe''. He joined ''The Washington Post'' in 2016, where he is an investigative political reporter.
Biography
A graduate of the Maxwell School of Citizenship a ...
and
Marc Fisher
Marc Fisher (born December 15, 1958) is a senior editor for ''The Washington Post'', where he writes about national, foreign and local issues. He was previously a ''Post'' enterprise editor, leading a team of writers experimenting with new types ...
, that researched the 2016 biography ''
Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power''.
For his work in journalism, Baron was awarded the 2016 Hitchens Prize. In 2017, he received the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media.
In May 2019, Baron said in defense of
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...
founder
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army inte ...
: "Dating as far back as the
Pentagon Papers
The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States in the Vietnam War, United States' political and military ...
case and beyond, journalists have been receiving and reporting on information that the government deemed classified. Wrongdoing and abuse of power were exposed. With the new indictment of Julian Assange, the government is advancing a legal argument that places such important work in jeopardy and undermines the very purpose of the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
."
In January 2020, Baron criticized a ''Post'' reporter who sent a
Tweet about the
Kobe Bryant sexual assault case
The Kobe Bryant sexual assault case began on July 18, 2003, when the news media reported that the sheriff's office in Eagle, Colorado, had arrested professional basketball player Kobe Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual ass ...
after Bryant's death. The reporter, Felicia Sonmez, was later suspended. ''The Washington Post'' guild criticized the move and she was reinstated.
Baron issued a three-page statement but did not apologize.
In January 2021, via an internal memo, Baron announced his retirement from ''The Washington Post'' effective February 28, 2021.
In his note, he advocated for
Section 230
Section 230 is a section of Title 47 of the United States Code that was enacted as part of the United States Communications Decency Act and generally provides immunity for website platforms with respect to third-party content. At its core, Sect ...
protections for social media companies.
Popular culture
In the 2015 film ''
Spotlight
Spotlight or spot light may refer to:
Lighting
* Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps
* Spotlight (theatre lighting)
* Spotlight, a searchlight
* Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types
Art, entertainment, an ...
'', which focuses on ''The Boston Globe''s coverage of the
Boston Catholic Church's priest child molestation scandal, Baron is played by
Liev Schreiber
Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywoo ...
. The film won the award for
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
at the
88th Academy Awards
The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015 and took place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. PST. Du ...
.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baron, Martin
1954 births
20th-century American Jews
American people of Israeli descent
Living people
Writers from Tampa, Florida
Lehigh University alumni
Miami Herald people
The New York Times corporate staff
The New York Times editors
The Boston Globe people
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
20th-century American journalists
American male journalists
21st-century American newspaper editors
21st-century American Jews