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Margaret M. Sullivan is an American journalist who is the former media columnist for '' The Washington Post''. She was the fifth public editor of '' The New York Times'' and the first woman to hold the position. In that role, she reported directly to Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. as the "readers' representative". She began her tenure on September 1, 2012, joining ''The New York Times'' from '' The Buffalo News'', where she had been editor and vice-president. Her first column in ''The Washington Post'' ran on May 22, 2016.


Biography

Sullivan is a native of Lackawanna, New York, and a graduate of Georgetown University. She also holds an M.S.J. from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Sullivan joined ''The Buffalo News'' in 1980 as a summer intern, becoming the paper’s first female editor in 1999. Sullivan was appointed to the Pulitzer Prize Board in 2011. She has been a juror several times and has served as the chairwoman of the commentary jury in 2006. She has been elected a director of the
American Society of News 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 ...
and led its
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 reco ...
committee. Sullivan is also the author of ''Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy'', which was published by Columbia Global Reports in 2020, and her memoir, ''Newroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life'', which was published by St. Martin's Press in 2022.


Career


''The Buffalo News''

Sullivan was the first woman to serve as the editor and as the managing editor of '' The Buffalo News'', the largest newspaper in
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY inc ...
, after previously working as a reporter and columnist. Sullivan focused ''The Buffalo News'''s reporting on poverty, economic development and inequities in
public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...
and established its first investigative team.


''The New York Times''

In the ''New York Times'' announcement of Sullivan's appointment on July 16, 2012, former executive editor Jill Abramson said, "Margaret has exactly the right experience to assume this critical role for us at this time. She has an impressive 32-year background in print journalism where she has distinguished herself as a reporter, columnist, editor and manager. And critically for us at this time, she has shown adeptness at embracing new platforms and engaging and interacting with readers in real time online, in print and in person." Unlike previous public editors of ''The New York Times'', Sullivan signed on for four years. In December 2015, Sullivan announced that she was not renewing her contract with ''The Times''. Sullivan stated that "The role really requires an outsider's perspective, so I've thought all along that having a clear time limit serves ''The Times'' and its readers best." Her tenure was celebrated by both journalists and readers. "Her tenure accomplished many things, most importantly the potential of web-based media reporting and criticism to combat the media establishment’s groupthink,"
Eric Alterman Eric Alterman (born January 14, 1960) is an American historian, journalist, author, media critic, blogger, and educator. He is a CUNY Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism at Brooklyn College and the author of eleven books. From 199 ...
observed.


''Washington Post''

In February 2016, it was announced that when Sullivan left ''The Times'', she would be joining '' The Washington Post'' as its media columnist. Arthur Sulzberger Jr., ''The Times''’s publisher, praised Sullivan in a memo to staff stating that she had "ushered the position into a new age." Her first column in '' The Washington Post'' ran on May 22, 2016. On August 10, 2022, Sullivan announced her departure in memo to staff, calling it a "self-imposed term limit". On the same day, Duke University named Sullivan as their 2023 Egan Visiting professor. Sullivan's final column for ''The Post'' was published on August 21, 2022.


Awards

In 2020, Sullivan was awarded the Mirror Award for her ''Post'' article on the media coverage of Donald Trump's first impeachment.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Margaret M. Living people Georgetown University alumni Medill School of Journalism alumni The New York Times public editors Writers from Buffalo, New York Year of birth missing (living people)