Mark Leibovich ( ; born May 9, 1965) is an American journalist and author. He is a staff writer at ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', and previously spent a decade as the chief national correspondent for ''
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...
'', based in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
He is known for his profiles of political and media figures. He also wrote the ''Times Magazine's'' "Your Fellow Americans" column about politics, media, and public life.
Early life and education
Born in Boston, Massachusetts to a father who was from Argentina, Leibovich grew up in a home he describes as not religious. He now describes himself as a "reporter of (nominal) Jewish identity".
Leibovich attended
Newton South High School
Newton South High School is one of two public high schools in the city of Newton, Massachusetts, United States, the other being Newton North.
History and student life
By the late 1950s, Newton's sole public high school, Newton High, grew to 3,00 ...
, from which he graduated in 1983. He went on to attend the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, graduating with a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
in 1987.
Career
Leibovich got his start as a journalist writing for Boston's alternative weekly '' The Phoenix,'' where he worked for four years. After that, he moved to California and worked as a reporter at ''
The San Jose Mercury News
''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...
''.
Leibovich then moved to Washington, D.C. to work at ''
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 ...
,'' where he spent nine years, first covering the national technology sector for the ''Post''s business section, then serving as the lead political writer for the paper's style section.
In 2006, Leibovich was hired by ''
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 d ...
'', where he was a national political correspondent in the Times' Washington Bureau. He then became Chief National Correspondent at ''
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...
.''
In 2022, Leibovich joined
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
as a staff writer.
Broadcasting
Leibovich appears frequently as a guest 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 ...
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
’s '' On the Media'', and other public affairs programs.
Writing
In addition to his political writing, Leibovich has also written:
* ''The New Imperialists'', a collection of profiles of
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...
pioneers, published January 2002, by
Prentice Hall Press
Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari B ...
.
* ''Citizens of the Green Room'', an anthology of Leibovich’s profiles in the ''New York Times'' and ''Washington Post'', published November 2014 by Blue Rider Press.
* '' Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times'', a behind-the-scenes look at the owners and commissioner of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, published September 2018, by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.
''This Town''
Leibovich is the author of ''This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral – Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking! – in America's Gilded Capital''. The book debuted at No. 1 on the ''New York Times'' nonfiction bestseller list in July 2013, and remained on the list for 12 weeks. Leibovich discussed ''This Town'' on ''The Daily Show'' with Jon Stewart, ABC's '' This Week with George Stephanopoulos'', '' Charlie Rose'', PBS's ''Moyers and Company'' and
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's ''
Weekend Edition
''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program '' Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday ...
''. He also appeared as a contestant on NPR’s ''Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me.'' In a February 2014 edition of ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...
,'' ''This Town'' was the answer to a clue in the category “2013 Bestsellers.”
In advance of its July 2013 release,
Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
published an article describing ''This Town'' as a "chronicle" of the "incestuous ecology of insider
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
". Leibovich, according to the story, is nicknamed "Leibo," and the book's original sub-title was "The Way it Works in Suck Up City".
Fareed Zakaria
Fareed Rafiq Zakaria (; born 20 January 1964) is an Indian-American journalist, political commentator, and author. He is the host of CNN's '' Fareed Zakaria GPS'' and writes a weekly paid column for ''The Washington Post.'' He has been a columni ...
as reviewer for the Washington Post praises it as the "hottest political book of the summer", containing " juicy anecdotes" and a tell-tale core of "corruption and dysfunction".
Richard McGregor
Richard McGregor (born 1958) is an Australian journalist, writer, and author. He is currently working as a Senior Fellow at the Lowey Insititute based in Sydney, Australia. He previously was based in Japan and also other locations such as Shangh ...
of 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 ...
described Leibovich as "like a modern-day Balzac".
In his book review for ''The New York Times'', novelist Christopher Buckley described ''This Town'' as a series of “mini-masterpieces of politico-anthropological sociology".
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
said This Town "may be the most pitiless examination of America’s permanent political class that has ever been conducted".
''This Town'' was released in paperback in April 2014 in conjunction with the annual
White House Correspondents Dinner
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...
, which Leibovich has described as "an abomination".
The book attracted controversy when an aide to Representative
Darrell Issa
Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for California's 50th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served ...
was fired for sharing reporters’ e-mails with Leibovich without their knowledge.
''Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times''
Leibovich is the author of ''Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times''. The book looks at a 4-year period in the NFL where Mark follows the most powerful people in the NFL, including commissioner Roger Goodell, quarterback
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
, and
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
owner
Jerry Jones
Jerral Wayne Jones (born October 13, 1942) is an American businessman who has been the owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) since February 1989.
Early life
Jones was born in Los Ange ...
. The book also looks at the controversies surrounding the NFL such as the long-term health hazards, football's impact on concussion and brain health, and how politics have crossed into the sport.
Awards and recognition
Leibovich has won a number of journalism awards, including a 2011 National Magazine Award for his profile of
Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
's Michael Allen and the changing media culture of Washington.
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
described Leibovich as “brutally incisive yet not without pathos” in naming him one of Washington's 25 Most Powerful, Least Famous People.
Washingtonian Magazine
''Washingtonian'' is a monthly magazine distributed in the Washington, D.C. area. It was founded in 1965 by Laughlin Phillips and Robert J. Myers. The magazine describes itself as "The Magazine Washington Lives By". The magazine's core focuses ar ...
has called him the "reigning master of the political profile” and
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
’s
Jeffrey Goldberg
Jeffrey Mark Goldberg (born September 22, 1965) is an American journalist and editor-in-chief of ''The Atlantic'' magazine. During his nine years at ''The Atlantic'' prior to becoming editor, Goldberg became known for his coverage of foreign affa ...
nominated Leibovich as Washington’s "most important journalist" for his "ability to make his profile subjects look like rock stars, on the one hand, and to make others look like complete idiots, on the other".
Personal life
Leibovich lives in
Washington D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
with his wife and three daughters.
Works
*Leibovich, Mark (2002). ''The New Imperialists: How Five Restless Kids Grew Up To Virtually Rule Your World''. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Press.
*Leibovich, Mark (2013) ''This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral-Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!-in America's Gilded Capital''. New York: Blue Rider Press.
*Leibovich, Mark (2014) ''Citizens of the Green Room: Profiles in Courage and Self-Delusion''. New York: Blue Rider Press.
*Leibovich, Mark (2018) ''Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times''. Penguin Press.
*Leibovich, Mark (2022) '' Thank You for Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the Price of Submission''. Penguin Press.
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 d ...