Richard L. Wolffe (born 17 September 1968) is a British-American journalist,
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
commentator, and author of the
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
books ''Renegade: The Making of a President'' (Crown, June 2009) and ''Revival: The Struggle for Survival Inside the Obama White House'' (Crown, November 2010). Richard Wolffe is a US columnist for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. He was most recently vice-president and executive editor of MSNBC.com.
Early life and journalism career
Wolffe was born to an English father and a Moroccan mother in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
, England, where he attended the fee-paying independent school,
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School (KES) is an independent day school for boys in the British public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by King Edward VI in 1552, it is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Bir ...
. He is
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 ...
. He is a 1992 graduate of
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, achieving
first-class honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
, in English and
French literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...
.
He took the Westminster Press diploma in journalism, starting with the pre-entry course at Hastings in autumn 1992 while a trainee reporter with the Brighton ''Argus'', and moved to the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
'' and thereafter ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
''.
Wolffe covered the entire length of
Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign for ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' magazine, traveling with the candidate and his inner circle from his announcement through election day, 21 months later.
He is a political analyst on
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
, having appeared frequently on ''
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program hosted by Keith Olbermann that aired on MSNBC from 2003 to 2011 and on Current TV from 2011 to 2012. The show presented five selected news stories o ...
'' and ''
Hardball with Chris Matthews
''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' was an American television talk show that was hosted by Chris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunct America's Talking network in 1994 (as ''Politics with Chris Matthews'') before moving on CNBC, and t ...
''. On
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, he was featured as a political commentator on ''
Meet The Press
''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...
'' and ''
TODAY
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
''. He features prominently in the forthcoming
HBO documentary on the Obama campaign, and played a leading role in the HBO documentary of the 2000 Bush campaign, ''
Journeys with George''. He has also appeared on
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
and
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
, as well as international media including British, Canadian and Australian television.
As ''Newsweeks senior White House correspondent, his cover stories included "What He Believes" (on Obama's faith), "Black & White" (about Obama and racial politics), "Bush in the Bubble" (after
Hurricane Katrina), and "Weight of the World" (how Bush handled the
Lebanon War). Wolffe joined Newsweek in November 2002 as diplomatic correspondent, covering foreign policy and international affairs. In the 2004 presidential election, he covered the
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 2009 ...
campaign before switching to
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
.
Before ''Newsweek'', Wolffe was a senior journalist at the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
'', serving as its deputy bureau chief and US diplomatic correspondent in Washington. He reported on US foreign policy, covered the
Microsoft antitrust trial, as well as regulatory and business issues at the
US Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
, the
Federal Trade Commission and the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
In April 2009, he joined Public Strategies, Inc. — a corporate-strategies firm run by
Dan Bartlett, former director of White House communications under
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
— as senior strategist. In July 2009, Wolffe guest-hosted a few episodes of ''
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program hosted by Keith Olbermann that aired on MSNBC from 2003 to 2011 and on Current TV from 2011 to 2012. The show presented five selected news stories o ...
'' and came under fire from liberal bloggers and writers because of that position. "Having Richard Wolffe host an MSNBC program — or serving as an almost daily 'political analyst' — is exactly tantamount to MSNBC's just turning over an hour every night to a corporate lobbyist," wrote
Salon columnist
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author and lawyer. In 2014, he cofounded ''The Intercept'', of which he was an editor until he resigned in October 2020. Greenwald subsequently started publishing on Substac ...
.
Olbermann apologised, claiming he was caught "flat-footed" and announcing that Wolffe would not appear on ''Countdown'' until his activities outside of MSNBC were reviewed. On 1 October 2009, Wolffe appeared on ''Countdown'', discussing Sarah Palin. Olbermann wrote at
Daily Kos
Daily Kos ( ) is a group blog and internet forum focused on the U.S. Democratic Party and liberal American politics. The site includes glossaries and other content. It is sometimes considered an example of " netroots" activism.
Daily Kos was ...
that "the broadcast network's very tough practices exec vetted this other job (and as indicated, the work he's done for us), found no interrelation." Wolffe left Public Strategies in December 2009.
Wolffe continues to be a regular guest on numerous
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
shows, including ''
Hardball with Chris Matthews
''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' was an American television talk show that was hosted by Chris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunct America's Talking network in 1994 (as ''Politics with Chris Matthews'') before moving on CNBC, and t ...
''.
In October 2012, it was announced that Wolffe would serve as VP and executive editor of MSNBC.com, scheduled to launch in early 2013.
He also lectures at many universities and institutes. In September 2009, Wolffe lectured on the topic ''Who is Barack Obama'' at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at
Saint Anselm College.
On the edition of 29 January 2013 of ''
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
''The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell'' is an American weeknight news and political commentary program on MSNBC. The program airs live at 10:00 P.M. Eastern Time Monday-Friday, and is hosted by Lawrence O'Donnell from Mondays to Thursdays and re ...
'', Wolffe mentioned that he had recently become a naturalised US citizen, although he did not give a specific date.
Other work
Wolffe is the co-author of ''The Victim's Fortune'' (HarperCollins, 2002), about the deals that led to billions of dollars in compensation to the Nazis' victims in the late 1990s, and the author of a book on Obama's campaign called ''Renegade: The Making of a President''.
He co-authored two Spanish cookbooks, ''Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America'' (Clarkson Potter in the US and Planeta in Spain, 2005) and ''Made in Spain: Spanish Dishes for the American Kitchen'' (Clarkson Potter, 2008). He has also written for food magazines such as ''Food Arts'' and ''
Food & Wine''.
Wolffe had a cameo in the 2013 motion picture ''
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
''The Incredible Burt Wonderstone'' is a 2013 American comedy film directed by Don Scardino and written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, based on a story by Chad Kultgen and Tyler Mitchell, along with Daley and Goldstein. The film ...
''.
Bibliography
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References
External links
Richard Wolffeofficial website
Column archiveat ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
''
Profileat ''
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
''
*
*
*
User Profile for Richard Wolffe Take Back America 2007 conference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolffe, Richard
1968 births
Living people
Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford
American broadcast news analysts
American political journalists
American people of British-Jewish descent
American people of Moroccan-Jewish descent
English political writers
English people of Moroccan descent
20th-century British Jews
English emigrants to the United States
Jewish American writers
English political journalists
American political writers
American male non-fiction writers
People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham
People with acquired American citizenship
21st-century American Jews