Howard Kurtz
Encyclopedia
Howard "Howie" Alan Kurtz (born August 1, 1953) is an American journalist
and author with a special focus on the media. He is host of CNN
's Reliable Sources
program, and Washington bureau chief for The Daily Beast
. He is the former media writer for The Washington Post
. He has written five books about the media. He has been described as the nation's "most influential media reporter".
(SUNY). In college he worked on a student newspaper, the "Spectrum", becoming the editor in his senior year. He then attended the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
. After Columbia he went to work for the Bergen Record in New Jersey. He left New Jersey to move to Washington D.C. and to work as a reporter for syndicated columnist Jack Anderson. Kurtz left Anderson to join the Washington Star
, an afternoon newspaper. When that newspaper closed in 1981 Kurtz was hired at the Washington Post by Bob Woodward
, then the Metro editor. Kurtz has written for The New Republic
, The Washington Monthly
, and New York
magazine.
Kurtz married Sheri Annis in May, 2003. Annis, a media consultant and political commentator, served as campaign spokesperson for Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
and has played major roles in various conservative initiatives, including California's Proposition 227
and Proposition 209
.
His last day at The Washington Post
was October 15, 2010.
program Reliable Sources
, a cable television program that explores the standards, performance and biases of the media. Kurtz leads the scrutinizing of the media's fairness and objectivity by questioning journalists of top news organizations, including those at CNN. The show premiered in 1992 when it originated as a one hour special to discuss the media's coverage of the Persian Gulf War.
. He will serve as the Washington bureau chief for the website, writing on media and politics. His salary at The Daily Beast has been reported to be $600,000 a year.
, CBS's Katie Couric
and NBC's Brian Williams
.
As a high-profile media critic and analyst, Kurtz's political leanings, multiple employers and potential conflicts of interest sometimes have been discussed or called into question by other media critics and pundits. Both liberal and conservative viewpoints have been perceived in his writing. Journalist Mickey Kaus
, reporting on and partially quoting from a letter by journalist Charles Kaiser
in The New Republic
, wrote that Kurtz "has large, non-technical conflicts of interest, since he free-lances and takes money 'from the people he writes about, from Time Warner
to Condé Nast
.'... One seemingly conflicting interest is Kurtz co-hosting CNN's Reliable Sources, in of which he obtains monetary supplements as well as national renown."
Kurtz has received criticism from some for his perceived friendship and implicit support of controversial syndicated radio host Don Imus
. Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly
has criticized Kurtz for criticizing Fox News. The network had covered a story about the United States Justice Department regarding its prosecution of members of the New Black Panther Party for accusations of voter intimidation during the 2008 United States Presidential Election. O'Reilly had criticized the network news media outlets, particularly Bob Schieffer
of the CBS News
talk show Face the Nation
, for not asking Attorney General Eric Holder
about the story. When Kurtz talked about the topic to his audience on Reliable Sources, he had mentioned that Fox News was "pushing" the story. O'Reilly criticized Kurtz's description that Fox was pushing the story and said that Kurtz's own newspaper, The Washington Post
, had its own ombudsman Andrew Alexander
say that it regretted not pursuing the story earlier due to newsworthiness.
Kurtz's 2008 “Reliable Sources” interview of Kimberly Dozier
, a CBS
journalist wounded in Iraq, was criticized by several media ethicists due to the fact that Kurtz's wife had been paid to serve as a publicist for Ms. Dozier’s memoir. During the interview, Kurtz praised Dozier and read passages of her book.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author with a special focus on the media. He is host of CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Reliable Sources
Reliable Sources
Reliable Sources is a weekly show on CNN, focusing on analysis of the American news media. It was initially created to cover the media's coverage of the Persian Gulf War, but has since also covered the media's coverage of the Valerie Plame affair, the War in Iraq, the outing of Mark Felt as Deep...
program, and Washington bureau chief for The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
. He is the former media writer for The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. He has written five books about the media. He has been described as the nation's "most influential media reporter".
Life and career
Kurtz was born in Brooklyn, New York in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood. He is a graduate of the University at BuffaloUniversity at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
(SUNY). In college he worked on a student newspaper, the "Spectrum", becoming the editor in his senior year. He then attended the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
. After Columbia he went to work for the Bergen Record in New Jersey. He left New Jersey to move to Washington D.C. and to work as a reporter for syndicated columnist Jack Anderson. Kurtz left Anderson to join the Washington Star
Washington Star
The Washington Star, previously known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star, was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C. between 1852 and 1981. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and...
, an afternoon newspaper. When that newspaper closed in 1981 Kurtz was hired at the Washington Post by Bob Woodward
Bob Woodward
Robert Upshur Woodward is an American investigative journalist and non-fiction author. He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter, and is currently an associate editor of the Post....
, then the Metro editor. Kurtz has written for The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, The Washington Monthly
The Washington Monthly
The Washington Monthly is a bimonthly nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C.The magazine's founder is Charles Peters, who started the magazine in 1969 and continues to write the "Tilting at Windmills" column in each issue. Paul Glastris, former...
, and New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine.
Kurtz married Sheri Annis in May, 2003. Annis, a media consultant and political commentator, served as campaign spokesperson for Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
and has played major roles in various conservative initiatives, including California's Proposition 227
California Proposition 227 (1998)
Proposition 227 was a California ballot proposition passed in the June 2, 1998 ballot. It effectively ended bilingual education programs in the state and replaced them with the Structured English Immersion model. The bill's intention was to educate Limited English Proficiency students in a rapid,...
and Proposition 209
California Proposition 209 (1996)
Proposition 209 is a California ballot proposition which, upon approval in November 1996, amended the state constitution to prohibit public institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity. It had been supported and funded by the California Civil Rights Initiative Campaign, led by University...
.
The Washington Post
Kurtz joined the staff of the Washington Post in 1981 and left in 2010 (29 years). He served there as a national affairs correspondent, New York bureau chief, and deputy national editor. Kurtz covered the press since 1990 for the The Washington Post, and is widely read within the journalism business.His last day at The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
was October 15, 2010.
Reliable Sources on CNN
Since 1998 Kurtz has been the host of the weekly CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
program Reliable Sources
Reliable Sources
Reliable Sources is a weekly show on CNN, focusing on analysis of the American news media. It was initially created to cover the media's coverage of the Persian Gulf War, but has since also covered the media's coverage of the Valerie Plame affair, the War in Iraq, the outing of Mark Felt as Deep...
, a cable television program that explores the standards, performance and biases of the media. Kurtz leads the scrutinizing of the media's fairness and objectivity by questioning journalists of top news organizations, including those at CNN. The show premiered in 1992 when it originated as a one hour special to discuss the media's coverage of the Persian Gulf War.
The Daily Beast
In October 2010, Kurtz announced that he was moving to the online publication The Daily BeastThe Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
. He will serve as the Washington bureau chief for the website, writing on media and politics. His salary at The Daily Beast has been reported to be $600,000 a year.
Media Circus: The Trouble with America's Newspapers
This 1993 book by Kurtz identifies a host of problems afflicting U.S. newspapers and also offers some suggestions. Among the troubles identified by Kurtz are: timid leadership, a spreading "tabloid" approach to news with a growing focus on celebrities and personal scandal, poor coverage of racial issues and the Persian Gulf war, increasing bureaucracy and a "pasteurization" of the news.Hot Air: All Talk, All the Time
This 1997 book by Kurtz describes many failings of the talk show / political talk show format even as it had been rapidly proliferating on television and radio. Some of the problems he identifies include: superficiality, lies, hysteria, lack of preparation, sensationalism and conflicts of interest.Spin Cycle: Inside the Clinton Propaganda Machine
This 1998 book by Kurtz describes the various techniques used by the Clinton White House to put the best possible "spin" on the numerous controversies and scandals surrounding the Clintons and to refocus the attention of the media on topics other than "non-issues" that were captivating the media's focus.The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media and Manipulation
This 2000 book by Kurtz addresses the growing public fascination with stock market trading as fueled by cable television shows and Internet sites providing platforms to various pundits, stock touts, and brokerage firm stock analysts. The increasing potential for manipulation of the media and the public by stock market insiders is discussed.Reality Show: Inside the Last Great Television News War
This 2007 book by Kurtz chronicles the struggles at the three "traditional" broadcast television networks (ABC, NBC and CBS) to enhance the stature, credibility and audience-draw of their various anchors of the evening network news programs. The book's focus is specifically on ABC's Charles GibsonCharles Gibson
Charles deWolf "Charlie" Gibson is a former American broadcast television anchor and journalist. He was a host of Good Morning America from 1987 to 1998 and 1999 to 2006 and anchor of World News with Charles Gibson from 2006 to 2009....
, CBS's Katie Couric
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
and NBC's Brian Williams
Brian Williams
Brian Douglas Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, the evening news program of the NBC television network, a position he assumed in 2004...
.
Personal opinions and potential conflicts of interest
Kurtz has publicly declined to state his political affiliation. His opinions on various media issues are featured in his five published books about the media industry.As a high-profile media critic and analyst, Kurtz's political leanings, multiple employers and potential conflicts of interest sometimes have been discussed or called into question by other media critics and pundits. Both liberal and conservative viewpoints have been perceived in his writing. Journalist Mickey Kaus
Mickey Kaus
Robert Michael Kaus , better known as Mickey Kaus, is an American journalist, pundit, and author best known for writing Kausfiles, a "mostly political" blog which was featured on Slate until 2010. Kaus is the author of The End of Equality and had previously worked as a journalist for Newsweek, The...
, reporting on and partially quoting from a letter by journalist Charles Kaiser
Charles Kaiser
Charles Kaiser is an American author, journalist and blogger.His blog about the media, Full Court Press, originated on the website of Radar Magazine in the fall of 2007...
in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, wrote that Kurtz "has large, non-technical conflicts of interest, since he free-lances and takes money 'from the people he writes about, from Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
to Condé Nast
Condé Nast Publications
Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, is a magazine publisher. In the U.S., it produces 18 consumer magazines, including Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue, as well as four business-to-business publications, 27 websites, and more than 50 apps...
.'... One seemingly conflicting interest is Kurtz co-hosting CNN's Reliable Sources, in of which he obtains monetary supplements as well as national renown."
Kurtz has received criticism from some for his perceived friendship and implicit support of controversial syndicated radio host Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
. Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
has criticized Kurtz for criticizing Fox News. The network had covered a story about the United States Justice Department regarding its prosecution of members of the New Black Panther Party for accusations of voter intimidation during the 2008 United States Presidential Election. O'Reilly had criticized the network news media outlets, particularly Bob Schieffer
Bob Schieffer
Bob Lloyd Schieffer is an American television journalist who has been with CBS News since 1969, serving 23 years as anchor on the Saturday edition of CBS Evening News from 1973 to 1996; chief Washington correspondent since 1982, moderator of the Sunday public affairs show Face the Nation since...
of the CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
talk show Face the Nation
Face the Nation
Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer is an American Sunday-morning political interview show which premiered on the CBS television network on November 7, 1954. It is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television...
, for not asking Attorney General Eric Holder
Eric Holder
Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first African American to hold the position, serving under President Barack Obama....
about the story. When Kurtz talked about the topic to his audience on Reliable Sources, he had mentioned that Fox News was "pushing" the story. O'Reilly criticized Kurtz's description that Fox was pushing the story and said that Kurtz's own newspaper, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, had its own ombudsman Andrew Alexander
Andrew Alexander
Andrew Alexander is a theatre, film, and television producer, known most widely for his leadership and co- ownership of The Second City, and for executive producing the television show SCTV.-Early life:...
say that it regretted not pursuing the story earlier due to newsworthiness.
KURTZ: I think the argument that I've heard OlbermannKeith OlbermannKeith Theodore Olbermann is an American political commentator and writer. He has been the chief news officer of the Current TV network and the host of Current TV's weeknight political commentary program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, since June 20, 2011...
make in the past about Fox News – it's not an argument that I embrace – is that, because it poses as a news organization and puts out dangerous misinformation is a cheerleader for the Bush administration, that it's misinforming our society. But you know what? They're entitled to do that.
Kurtz's 2008 “Reliable Sources” interview of Kimberly Dozier
Kimberly Dozier
Kimberly Dozier is a correspondent for the Associated Press, covering intelligence and counterterrorism. She was stationed in Baghdad as the chief reporter in Iraq for CBS News for nearly three years prior to being critically wounded on May 29, 2006.-Biography:Dozier was born in Honolulu, Hawaii,...
, a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
journalist wounded in Iraq, was criticized by several media ethicists due to the fact that Kurtz's wife had been paid to serve as a publicist for Ms. Dozier’s memoir. During the interview, Kurtz praised Dozier and read passages of her book.
Further reading
- Howard Kurtz (1994). Media Circus: The Trouble with America's Newspapers. ISBN 0812920228.
- Howard Kurtz (1997). Hot Air: All Talk, All the Time. ISBN 0812926242.
- Howard Kurtz (1998). Spin Cycle: Inside the Clinton Propaganda Machine. ISBN 0684852314.
- Howard Kurtz (2000). The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media, and Manipulation. ISBN 0684868792.
- Howard Kurtz (2007). Reality Show: Inside the Last Great Television News War. ISBN 0743299825.
External links
- Profile at CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
- Column archive at The Daily BeastThe Daily BeastThe Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
- Kurtz's Media Notes on Washingtonpost.com (up to October, 2010 when he left the Post)