Richard Lowry (; born August 22, 1968) is an American writer who is the former editor and now

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'', an American

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

news and opinion magazine. Lowry became editor of ''National Review'' in 1997 when selected by its founder,

William F. Buckley, Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...

, to lead the magazine. Lowry is also a syndicated columnist,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, and political analyst who is a frequent guest on

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 var ...

and ''

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. ' ...

''. He has written four books.

Life and career

Lowry was born and grew up in Arlington,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, the son of a social worker mother and an English professor father. After graduating from Yorktown High School in Arlington, Lowry attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, where he studied English and history. He was editor of the ''Virginia Advocate'', the school's conservative monthly magazine. After graduating, he worked for Charles Krauthammer as a research assistant, and, later, as a reporter for a local newspaper in

northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

. In 1992, Lowry joined ''

'', after finishing second in the magazine's young writers' contest. In the summer of 1994, he became the articles editor for ''National Review'' and moved to

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, ...

to cover

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. In November 1997, Lowry became editor of ''National Review'' at the age of 29, taking over from John O'Sullivan, who had succeeded Buckley in that position ten years earlier. At the time, Buckley said of Lowry, "I am very confident that I've got a very good person." During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Lowry praised

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Repres ...

for his hands-off approach to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in a May 2020 column titled "Where does Ron DeSantis go to get his apology?". Lowry writes a syndicated column for

King Features King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial ...

and is an opinion columnist with ''

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 ...

''. As a political commentator, he regularly appears on various cable shows and network Sunday shows, including NBC's ''

'', ABC's '' This Week'', and ''

FOX News Sunday ''Fox News Sunday'' is a Sunday morning talk show that has aired on the broadcast Fox network since 1996, as a presentation of Fox News Channel. It is the only regularly scheduled Fox News program carried on the main Fox broadcast network. Ho ...

''.

Books

Lowry has written three non-fiction books. His ''New York Times'' best-selling book, ''Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years'' is a

polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topic ...

against former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, whom he characterizes as "Navel-Gazer-in-Chief". In June 2013, he published the

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

political biography ''Lincoln Unbound''. In November 2019, he published ''The Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free''. In a review in '' Foreign Affairs'',

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Professor of Government, Charles King, an expert on

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

, criticized the book, arguing that Lowry's definition of a nation is vague, ahistorical and contradictory: "few of Lowry's statements would pass muster with historians", and that Lowry's assertions about the unity, homogeneity and fixity of units such as Ancient Egypt, Korea, Japan and China "should be an embarrassment" to "any serious thinker." Pulitzer Prize winner Carlos Lozada was harshly critical of the book in a review for ''

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 ...

'', describing it as an attempt to sanitize President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's variant of nationalism and "part of a larger effort on the right to create an after-the-fact framework for Trumpism, to contort the president's utterances and impulses into a coherent worldview that can outlast him — a sort of rescue mission for the conservative movement." Lowry's first novel, the political thriller ''Banquo's Ghosts'', was co-written with Keith Korman and published in 2009. The plot revolves around a nuclear-armed Iran and an inebriated leftist journalist.

Works

* * * *

References

Michael Tomasky Michael John Tomasky (born October 13, 1960) is an American columnist, progressive commentator, and author. He is the editor of ''The New Republic'' and editor in chief of ''Democracy''. He has been a special correspondent for ''Newsweek'', ''T ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowry, Rich 1968 births Living people American columnists American male journalists American magazine editors American political writers Journalists from New York City MSNBC people National Review people New York (state) Republicans People from Arlington County, Virginia University of Virginia alumni Yorktown High School (Virginia) alumni

Life and career

Books

Works

See also

References

External links