Daniel Balz is an American journalist at ''

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 ...

'', where he has been a political correspondent since 1978. Balz has served as National Editor, Political Editor, White House correspondent and as the ''Washington Post''s

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

-based Southwest correspondent. Balz sometimes appears on the news show ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk show broadcast on NBC. It is the List of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running program on American television, though its format has changed since th ...

'' and frequently appears on the PBS program '' Washington Week''. In April 2011 the

White House Correspondents' Association 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 ...

honored Balz with the prestigious Merriman Smith Award for excellence in presidential coverage under deadline pressure.

Early life and education

Balz was born in

Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the largest city in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is k ...

. A 1964 graduate of Freeport High School he received bachelor's and master's degrees in communications from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1968 to 1971.

Career

Balz is co-author, with Ronald Brownstein of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', of the 1996 book ''Storming the Gates: Protest Politics and the Republican Revival''. In 1999, Balz received the

American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political scientists in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, it publishes four ...

award for political coverage. Balz's latest work, co-written with

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winner Haynes Johnson in 2009, is ''The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election''. Based on two years of reporting, it includes exclusive interviews with then-candidates

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

and many of their top advisers during the campaign and election. After college graduation, prior to entering military service, Balz worked for the Freeport Journal Standard covering the

1968 Democratic National Convention The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making ...

and contemporaneous riots. Before coming to ''The Washington Post'', he worked as a reporter and deputy editor for ''

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes ...

'' and as a reporter for ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

''.

Personal life

He is married to Nancy Johnson Balz and they have one son.

References

External links

*
Washington Post: Dan Balz

PBS WETA: Dan Balz

Harvard: Fellows: Dan Balz

Random House: Dan Balz

American Academy of Arts & Sciences: Dan Balz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balz, Dan Living people American male journalists American newspaper reporters and correspondents People from Freeport, Illinois The Philadelphia Inquirer people University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Media alumni The Washington Post people Journalists from Illinois American television journalists Freeport High School (Illinois) alumni United States Army soldiers Year of birth missing (living people)