Eileen McNamara (born May 30, 1952) is an American

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 journalis ...

. She is the author of ''Eunice, The Kennedy Who Changed the World,'' to be published by Simon and Schuster, on April 3, 2018. She is chair of the Journalism Program at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , p ...

and formerly a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

with 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 Gl ...

'', where she won the

Pulitzer Prize for Commentary The Pulitzer Prize for Commentary is an award administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism "for distinguished commentary, using any available journalistic tool". It is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are ...

in 1997.

Life and career

A graduate of

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

(1974) and the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism ...

(1976), she was a

Nieman Fellow The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard Universit ...

at Harvard for the academic year 1987–88. She began her journalism career at Barnard as a campus correspondent for the '' Daily News'' in New York City before graduating to ''

The News-Times ''The News-Times'' is a daily newspaper based in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. It is owned and operated by the Hearst Corporation. The paper covers Danbury, a city in Fairfield County in southwestern Connecticut, as well as the towns o ...

'' of

Danbury, CT Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

and

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...

in Boston. Her nickname is "Mac". During nearly 30 years at ''The Boston Globe'', she covered everything from the night police beat to the United States Congress. First hired as a newsroom secretary, she worked her way up through the general assignment staff, the State House Bureau, the special projects team and the Sunday magazine staff to the position of columnist in 1995. In addition to the

(1997), she has been the recipient of writing and public service awards from the

American Society of Newspaper Editors The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of ...

Sigma Delta Chi The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

, the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation and others for a reporting career that focused on social issues as infant mortality, domestic violence and juvenile crime. In 2007, she was named a winner of the

Yankee Quill Award The Yankee Quill Award is a regional American journalism award that recognizes a lifetime contribution toward excellence in journalism in New England. The award is bestowed annually by the Academy of New England Journalists, and administered by the ...

, the highest individual honor given by the Academy of New England Journalists. She is married to sportswriter Peter May,Hush-hush: In its war of words with WEEI, the Globe learns that silence isn't necessarily golden
, by Dan Kennedy, ''Boston Phoenix''. and is the mother of three adult children: Timothy, Patrick and Katherine. A regular on local public affairs programs in Boston, she has also appeared on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

'', ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...

'' and ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the prog ...

''. She appeared on ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form fr ...

'' on September 25, 2006. McNamara is the author of two previous books: ''Breakdown: Sex, Suicide and the Harvard Psychiatrist'' (which was an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

finalist in 1994) and ''The Parting Glass: A Toast to the Traditional Pubs of Ireland'' (with photographer Eric Roth). She contributed to the Boston Globe's coverage of the clergy sexual abuse scandal by recommending that the Spotlight Team look further into the cases she had reported on previously. 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 ...

'', McNamara was played by actress Maureen Keiller. Spotlight won the

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 ...

for Best Picture in 2016.

References

External links

*
Eileen McNamara Archives
at ''

Boston Magazine ''Boston'' is a monthly magazine concerning life in the Greater Boston area and has been in publication since 1805. History and profile ''Boston'' magazine was started in 1805. Metrocorp, Inc. bought the magazine in 1970. The company also owns ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Eileen 1952 births Living people Pulitzer Prize for Commentary winners Nieman Fellows The Boston Globe people Brandeis University faculty Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts Barnard College alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni