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 ma ...
winning journalist and is the
publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
Dold (full name Robert Bruce Dold) was born March 9, 1955, in
Newark, NJ
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. He grew up in Glen Ridge, NJ, and from 1973 to 1978 he attended
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Chart ...
in
Evanston, IL
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
, where he received a B.S. and M.S. 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 ...
.
Professional career
Dold was hired as a
suburban
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...
reporter
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 ...
by the Chicago Tribune in 1978. He also contributed to
Downbeat Magazine
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
as a
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...
critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...
. The Tribune hired him as a regular reporter in 1983, and he became a political writer before joining the editorial board in 1990. In 1995, he became deputy editorial page editor and columnist at the Tribune. In 1993, while a member of the editorial board, he wrote a 10-part series that won the Pulitzer for editorial writing. The citation read: "For his series of editorials deploring the murder of a 3-year-old boy by his abusive mother and decrying the Illinois
child welfare
Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...
system."
In 2000, Dold was named editorial page editor. The Tribune subsequently earned a dozen national awards for editorials. It received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
In February 2016, Dold was named editor of the Chicago Tribune, following former Tribune editor-in-chief Gerould Kern.
Personal life
Dold, who is Roman Catholic, married Eileen Claire Norris in 1982. They have two daughters, Megan and Kristen.