Eileen McNamara (born May 30, 1952) is an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. She is the author of ''Eunice, The Kennedy Who Changed the World,'' published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. She is an emerita professor in the Journalism Program at

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

and formerly a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

with the ''

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 ...

'', where she won the

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 1997.

Life and career

A graduate of

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

(1974) and the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...

(1976), she was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard for the academic year 1987–88. She began her journalism career at Barnard as a campus correspondent for the '' Daily News'' in New York City before graduating to ''

The News-Times ''The News-Times'' is a daily newspaper based in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. It is owned and operated by the Hearst Corporation. The paper covers Danbury, a city in Fairfield County in southwestern Connecticut, as well as, portion ...

'' of Danbury, CT and

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

in Boston. Her nickname is "Mac". During nearly 30 years at ''The Boston Globe'', she covered everything from the night police beat to the United States Congress. First hired as a newsroom secretary, she worked her way up through the general assignment staff, the State House Bureau, the special projects team and the Sunday magazine staff to the position of columnist in 1995. In addition to the

(1997), she has been the recipient of writing and public service awards from the

American Society of Newspaper 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 m ...

, Sigma Delta Chi, the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation and others for a reporting career that focused on social issues as infant mortality, domestic violence and juvenile crime. In 2007, she was named a winner of the Yankee Quill Award, the highest individual honor given by the Academy of New England Journalists. She is married to sportswriter Peter May,Hush-hush: In its war of words with WEEI, the Globe learns that silence isn't necessarily golden
, by Dan Kennedy, ''Boston Phoenix''. and is the mother of three adult children: Timothy, Patrick and Katherine. A regular on local public affairs programs in Boston, she has also appeared on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'', ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...

'' and ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...

''. She appeared on ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

'' on September 25, 2006. McNamara is the author of two previous books: ''Breakdown: Sex, Suicide and the Harvard Psychiatrist'' (which was an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

finalist in 1994) and ''The Parting Glass: A Toast to the Traditional Pubs of Ireland'' (with photographer Eric Roth). She contributed to the Boston Globe's coverage of the clergy sexual abuse scandal by recommending that the Spotlight Team look further into the cases she had reported on previously. In the 2015 film '' Spotlight'', McNamara was played by actress Maureen Keiller. Spotlight won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Picture in 2016.

References

External links

*
Eileen McNamara Archives
at ''

Boston Magazine ''Boston'' (also called "''Boston'' magazine" or referred to by the nickname "BoMag") is a regional monthly magazine concerning life in the Greater Boston area, which has been in publication since 1962. History Metrocorp Publishing, a Philade ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Eileen 1952 births Living people Pulitzer Prize for Commentary winners Nieman Fellows The Boston Globe people Brandeis University faculty Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts Barnard College alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni