Alec MacGillis is an American journalist whose work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, an on-line news source, and books. Currently, he is a senior reporter for

ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City. ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time reporters, and the resulting stories are distributed to ne ...

and an editor-at-large for the ''Baltimore Banner''. MacGillis is a resident of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Career

MacGillis’ father is Donald MacGillis, the former ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' editorial writer and former executive editor of ''

The Berkshire Eagle ''The Berkshire Eagle'' is an American daily newspaper published in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and covering all of Berkshire County, as well as four New York communities near Pittsfield. It is considered a newspaper of record for Berkshire Coun ...

''. Alec MacGillis received a BA in history and English from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He has worked for six newspapers including ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. In 1997, he started working at ''

The Brooklyn Paper ''Brooklyn Paper'' is a weekly newspaper that covers news related exclusively to the New York City borough of Brooklyn. ''Brooklyn Paper'' covers news and cultural events throughout the borough, using different mastheads for neighborhoods such as ...

''. In 2011, he switched from newspaper journalism to writing for magazines. He wrote for ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

''. In 2015, he began writing for Pro Publica. MacGillis has also written several non-fiction books. In 2014, he published '' The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell'', a biography of Mitch McConnell. In 2021, MacGillis published '' Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America''.

Awards and honors

In 2016, MacGillis won the

Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting The Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting was established in 2009 to celebrate the life and work of Robin Toner, the late ''New York Times'' political correspondent. It is awarded by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications of Syr ...

. In 2017, MacGillis won the

George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awar ...

. In 2017, MacGillis received the

Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award The Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award is presented annually by Colby College to a member of the newspaper profession who has contributed to the country's journalistic achievement. The award is named for Elijah Parish Lovejoy, and established in 1952. ...

for his body of reporting on a wide range of issues including corporate influence on public policy, and aspects of the opioid crisis. The President of Colby college David A. Greene celebrated MacGillis for his “courageous and unyielding efforts to reveal truths that have been carefully shielded from public scrutiny.” In 2017, MacGillis won the Topic of the Year award at the Scripps Howard Awards for his ProPublica story “The Breakdown" which was the culmination of spending 2016 exploring middle America to understand "the mounting wave of discontent, frustration and anger."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacGillis, Alec American journalists Living people 20th-century births Year of birth missing (living people)