Dorothy Rabinowitz
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Rabinowitz is a Pulitzer Prize
-winning American
conservative
journalist and commentator. She was born in New York City
, and was educated at Queens College and New York University
. She has worked as editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal since June 1990 and has been a member of their editorial board since May 1996.
She is a regular panelist on the Journal Editorial Report
.
in Commentary
for a series of articles published in 2000 covering aspects of U.S. social and cultural trends.
Previously, she had been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize three times, but in 2001 "she was not a finalist [but]... the Pulitzer board, which makes the final decisions, reviewed the jury's original three finalists and decided it wanted 'a broader choice.' The jury offered Ms. Rabinowitz as an alternate selection.".
"[A]mong the ten articles cited by the board were five articles challenging questionable allegations of sexual abuse. Four of the cited articles commented on the 2000 U.S. presidential election
and the remaining article discussed Rudolph Giuliani's recommending a pardon for Michael Milken
."
She had previously been nominated in 1996 for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
"For her columns effectively challenging key cases of alleged child abuse
." She had also been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
in 1995 "For her writing about television" and in 1998 "For her tough-minded, critical columns on television and its place in politics and culture."
in Malden, Massachusetts
and those in Wenatchee, Washington
.
These exposés earned her a 1996 Pulitzer nomination, formed half of the articles cited for her 2001 Pulitzer win, and was the basis of her book No Crueler Tyrannies: Accusation, False Witness, and Other Terrors of Our Times.
Rabinowitz told C-SPAN
that her work on these cases began with the Wee Care Nursery School
case:
Her work on this led The Wall Street Journal to hire her.
, an Arkansas woman who alleged that then President Bill Clinton
had raped her. Rabinowitz took the woman's story at face value, writing "To encounter this woman, to hear the details of her story and the statements of the corroborating witnesses, was to understand that this was in fact an event that took place." The allegations were originally reported by NBC's Lisa Meyers. False claims that Rabinowitz apologized for this story were later circulated and appeared in Wikipedia. She never apologized rting. She also wrote approvingly of Republican
presidential candidate John McCain
in both the 2000 and 2008 U.S. presidential election
s.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
journalist and commentator. She was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and was educated at Queens College and New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. She has worked as editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal since June 1990 and has been a member of their editorial board since May 1996.
She is a regular panelist on the Journal Editorial Report
Journal Editorial Report
The Journal Editorial Report is a weekly American interview and panel discussion TV program on Fox News Channel, hosted by Paul Gigot, editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal...
.
Pulitzer Prize
Ms. Rabinowitz was awarded the 2001 Pulitzer PrizePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in Commentary
Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
The Pulitzer Prize for Commentary has been awarded since 1970. The Pulitzer Committee issues an official citation explaining the reasons for the award.-List of winners and their official citations:...
for a series of articles published in 2000 covering aspects of U.S. social and cultural trends.
Previously, she had been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize three times, but in 2001 "she was not a finalist [but]... the Pulitzer board, which makes the final decisions, reviewed the jury's original three finalists and decided it wanted 'a broader choice.' The jury offered Ms. Rabinowitz as an alternate selection.".
"[A]mong the ten articles cited by the board were five articles challenging questionable allegations of sexual abuse. Four of the cited articles commented on the 2000 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
and the remaining article discussed Rudolph Giuliani's recommending a pardon for Michael Milken
Michael Milken
Michael Robert Milken is an American business magnate, financier, and philanthropist noted for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds during the 1970s and 1980s, for his 1990 guilty plea to felony charges for violating US securities laws, and for his funding of medical...
."
She had previously been nominated in 1996 for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
The Pulitzer Prize for Commentary has been awarded since 1970. The Pulitzer Committee issues an official citation explaining the reasons for the award.-List of winners and their official citations:...
"For her columns effectively challenging key cases of alleged child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
." She had also been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer who has demonstrated 'distinguished criticism'. Recipients of the award are chosen by an independent board and officially administered by Columbia University...
in 1995 "For her writing about television" and in 1998 "For her tough-minded, critical columns on television and its place in politics and culture."
No Crueler Tyrannies
Rabinowitz wrote exposés of the dubious sexual abuse charges filed against the operators of day care centers and other individuals, notably that of a family named AmiraultGerald Amirault
Gerald A. "Tooky" Amirault is an American convicted in 1986 of child sexual abuse of eight children at the Fells Acres Day Care Center in Malden, Massachusetts, run by his family. He and his family deny the charges, which supporters regard as a conspicuous example of day care sex abuse hysteria...
in Malden, Massachusetts
Malden, Massachusetts
Malden is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 59,450 at the 2010 census. In 2009 Malden was ranked as the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.-History:...
and those in Wenatchee, Washington
Wenatchee, Washington
Wenatchee is located in North Central Washington and is the largest city and county seat of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925...
.
These exposés earned her a 1996 Pulitzer nomination, formed half of the articles cited for her 2001 Pulitzer win, and was the basis of her book No Crueler Tyrannies: Accusation, False Witness, and Other Terrors of Our Times.
Rabinowitz told C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
that her work on these cases began with the Wee Care Nursery School
Wee Care Nursery School
The Wee Care Nursery School was in Maplewood, New Jersey and was one of many day care child abuse cases that went to trial in the 1980s. Though initially successful in its prosecution of Margaret Kelly Michaels, the decision was overturned after five years in prison, on the basis of improper and...
case:
I was working as a television commentator. I was at WWOR-TVWWOR-TVWWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
in New Jersey, doing three times a week some sort of media criticism. And ... I saw this woman in her 20s ... accused of something like 2,800 charges of child sex abuse. Oh, I thought, well, that's very odd. ... I thought, How can one woman, one young, lone woman in an absolutely open place like the child care center of the church in New Jersey that she worked for -- how could she have committed these enormous crimes against 20 children, dressed and undressed them and sent -- you know what it is to dress and undress even one child every day without getting their socks lost? -- 20 children in a perfectly public place, torture them for two years, frighten and terrorize them, and they never went home and told their parents anything? ... This did seem strange.
Her work on this led The Wall Street Journal to hire her.
Political commentary
In 1999, Rabinowitz wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Journal about Juanita BroaddrickJuanita Broaddrick
Juanita Broaddrick is an American former nursing home administrator from Arkansas. She alleged in 1998 that United States President Bill Clinton had raped her two decades earlier...
, an Arkansas woman who alleged that then President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
had raped her. Rabinowitz took the woman's story at face value, writing "To encounter this woman, to hear the details of her story and the statements of the corroborating witnesses, was to understand that this was in fact an event that took place." The allegations were originally reported by NBC's Lisa Meyers. False claims that Rabinowitz apologized for this story were later circulated and appeared in Wikipedia. She never apologized rting. She also wrote approvingly of Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presidential candidate John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
in both the 2000 and 2008 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
s.