Eugene Harold Robinson (born March 12, 1954) is an American newspaper

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 ...

and an associate editor of ''

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 n ...

''. His columns are syndicated to 262 newspapers by

The Washington Post Writers Group ''The Washington Post'' Writers Group (WPWG), a division of The Washington Post News Service & Syndicate, is a press syndication service composed of opinion journalists, editorial cartoonists, comic strips and columnists. The service is operated ...

. He won a

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 made ...

in 2009, was elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board in 2011 and served as its chair from 2017 to 2018. Robinson also serves as

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's v ...

and

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 political ...

's chief political analyst. Robinson is a member of the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...

and a board member of the

IWMF The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical so ...

(International Women's Media Foundation).

Biography

Early years and education

Robinson was born in

Orangeburg, South Carolina Orangeburg, also known as ''The Garden City'', is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population of the city was 13,964 according to the 2010 United States Census and declined to ...

and attended

Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is a part of the Orangeburg County School District. It is home to the Mighty Bruins/Bruinettes and also an International Baccalaureate World School. History Delano Mi ...

, where he "was one of a handful of black students on a previously all-white campus." Before graduating from 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 ...

in 1974, he was the first African American co-editor-in-chief of ''

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other stu ...

''. During the 1987–88 academic year, he was a mid-career

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 ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

Career

In 1976, he began his journalism career at the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

''; his early assignments included the trial of publishing heiress

Patty Hearst Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found ...

. He joined ''The Washington Post'' in 1980. Working his way up through the ranks, he was first a

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

reporter at the paper. He then became the assistant

city editor A city editor is a title used by a particular section editor of a newspaper. They are responsible for the daily changes of a particular issue of a newspaper that will be released in the coming day. Mostly they stay at the publication at night and t ...

; a South America correspondent based in

Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South A ...

;

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

bureau chief; foreign editor; and, most recently, the assistant managing editor of the paper's Style section. He began writing columns for the opinion page of the paper in 2005, also writes a twice-a-week column on politics and culture, and conducts a weekly online conversation with readers. Robinson appears frequently as a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political analyst on

cable-TV network's programs such as ''

Morning Joe ''Morning Joe'' is an American morning news and liberal talk show, airing weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the cable news channel MSNBC. It features former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough reporting and discu ...

'', ''

PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton ''PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton'' is an American political talk show broadcast on MSNBC, hosted by Al Sharpton. It began on August 29, 2011, on MSNBC's weekday 6 PM slot, the first time that the slot had been occupied by a branded series since ...

'', ''

The Rachel Maddow Show ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' (also abbreviated ''TRMS'') is an American liberal news and opinion television program that airs on MSNBC, running in the 9:00 pm ET timeslot Monday evenings. It is hosted by Rachel Maddow, who gained a public p ...

'', ''

The 11th Hour with Brian Williams ''The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle'' is an American nightly news and politics television program airing weeknights at 11:00 pm ET on MSNBC that premiered on September 6, 2016. It was hosted by Brian Williams, the former host of ''NBC Night ...

'', and ''

Andrea Mitchell Reports ''Andrea Mitchell Reports'' is a news show on MSNBC broadcast weekdays at 12 PM ET/9 AM PT hosted by Andrea Mitchell. She originally was an anchor under the '' MSNBC Live'' umbrella before getting her own distinct show. She is the NBC News Chief ...

''. In addition, he is often a panelist 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 ...

's public affairs program''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk shows, news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the List of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running program on American television, though the curr ...

. Robinson was awarded the 2009

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 recognition of his columns that focused on then-Senator

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 (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

in the context of his first presidential campaign. Robinson is a 2021 honoree of the Larry Foster Award for Integrity in Public Communication, a recognition from The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication. He is a part of the fifth class of Larry Foster Award honorees, which honors professionals who "exemplify the importance of truthful communication with the public." In March 2022, Robinson was interviewed for the ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'' documentary ''Putin's Road to War'', where he discussed the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

.Putin's Road to War: Eugene Robinson (interview) , FRONTLINE. March 13, 2022

/ref>

Books

* * *

References

External links

Biography at ''The Washington Post'' News Service & Syndicate

''The Washington Post'' columns archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Eugene 1954 births Living people People from Orangeburg, South Carolina African-American journalists African-American writers American columnists American male journalists American political writers Journalists from South Carolina Pulitzer Prize for Commentary winners People from Arlington County, Virginia University of Michigan alumni The Washington Post people San Francisco Chronicle people Journalists from Virginia NBC News people MSNBC people The Michigan Daily alumni Nieman Fellows Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School alumni

Biography

Early years and education

Career

Books

References

Further reading

External links