Chris Cillizza#Reception

{{Infobox person

| name = Chris Cillizza

| image = Chris cilliza5188231.jpg

| caption = Cillizza at the 2024 Gaithersburg Book Festival

| birth_name = Christopher Michael Cillizza

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1976|2|20}}

| birth_place = Marlborough, Connecticut, U.S.

| education = Georgetown University (BA)

| occupation = Political commentator

| spouse = Gia Cillizza

| website = {{url|youtube.com/@chriscillizza}}

}}

Christopher Michael Cillizza ({{IPAc-en|s|ᵻ|ˈ|l|ɪ|z|ə}}; born February 20, 1976){{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/TheFix/statuses/39328041863741440|title=Chris Cillizza on Twitter|website=Twitter|access-date=November 4, 2016}} is an American political commentator, who worked for the television news channel CNN from 2017 to 2022. Prior to joining CNN, he wrote for The Fix, the daily political blog of The Washington Post, and was a regular contributor to the Post on political issues, a frequent panelist on Meet the Press, and an MSNBC political analyst.

Currently, he maintains a political blog.{{Cite web|url=https://chriscillizza.substack.com/|title=So What | Chris Cillizza | Substack|first=Chris|last=Cillizza|website=chriscillizza.substack.com|accessdate=February 25, 2024}}

Early life and education

Cillizza was born and raised in Marlborough, Connecticut.{{Cite web|url=https://dennishouse.tv/2009/12/27/chris-cillizza-on-face-the-state/|title=Chris Cillizza on 'Face the State'|last=House|first=Dennis|date=December 27, 2009|website=The Hartfordite|access-date=July 10, 2016}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/02/12/how-red-sox-vs-yankees-explains-connecticut-politics/|title=How 'Red Sox vs. Yankees' explains Connecticut politics|last=Cillizza|first=Chris|date=February 12, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 10, 2016}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.courant.com/politics/capitol-watch/hc-chris-cillizza-cnn-story.html|title=Connecticut Native, Political Reporter Jumps To CNN|last=Blair|first=Russell|date=March 13, 2017|work=Hartford Courant|access-date=March 14, 2017|language=en-US}} He attended The Loomis Chaffee School an independent boarding school in Windsor, Connecticut, and graduated in 1994.{{Cite web|url=https://www.courant.com/1994/06/04/the-loomis-chaffee-class-of-1994-2/|title=The Loomis Chaffee Class Of 1994|date=June 4, 1994|website=Hartford Courant|access-date=July 10, 2016}} He attended Georgetown University from 1994 to 1998, where he graduated with a B.A. in English.{{Cite web|url=http://politics.georgetown.edu/chris-cillizza/|title=Chris Cillizza|publisher=Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service|language=en-US|access-date=July 10, 2016|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728114510/http://politics.georgetown.edu/chris-cillizza/|url-status=dead}} He currently resides in Falls Church, Virginia with his wife and two children.{{Cite news |last=Van Zandt |first=Emily |date=August 29, 2016 |title=Why Chris Cillizza Doesn't Read the Comments |url=http://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/why-chris-cillizza-doesnt-read-the-comments/ |access-date=March 14, 2017 |work=Arlington Magazine |language=en-US}} He is of Sicilian and Irish descent.{{Cite news|url=https://live.washingtonpost.com/the-fix-faceoff-for-january-18.html|title=The Fix Faceoff: Video Q&A with Chris Cillizza|newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=July 10, 2016}}

Career

After working as a novelist and later an intern for conservative writer George Will,{{cite news|last1=Lenz|first1=Lyz|title=Enthusiastic, prolific, simplistic Chris Cillizza reaches new heights|url=https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/chris-cillizza-cnn-politics.php|access-date=March 11, 2018|work=Columbia Journalism Review|date=July 27, 2017|language=en}} Cillizza began his career in journalism. He later worked on the Washington, D.C. newspaper Roll Call prior to joining The Washington Post.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120112032936/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/fix-notes/about-chris-cillizza.html "About Chris Cilizza" (biosketch)], The Washington Post; retrieved September 11, 2011. For The Cook Political Report he covered gubernatorial races and southern House races. He wrote a column on politics for Congress Daily. During his four years at Roll Call, which he joined in June 2001, he reported on campaign politics from the presidential to the congressional level, finishing his time at Roll Call as the paper's White House correspondent.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/ohioriver/about.html|title=Meet the Reporters {{!}} Ohio River Ramble: Nine Districts in Nine Days {{!}} Campaign 2006 {{!}} washingtonpost.com|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 14, 2017}}

His freelance work has appeared in publications such as The Atlantic Monthly, Washingtonian, and Slate.{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/chris-cillizza/|title=Chris Cillizza {{!}} Interviews {{!}} Tavis Smiley {{!}} PBS|date=March 31, 2011|work=Tavis Smiley {{!}} PBS|access-date=March 14, 2017|language=en-US}} He has also been a guest on CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. After multiple guest appearances on the network, he was named a MSNBC Political Analyst, a position he resigned when he accepted a position at CNN.{{Cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2017/03/cnn-hires-chris-cillizza-235990|title=CNN hires Chris Cillizza|last=Gold|first=Hadas|author-link=Hadas Gold|date=March 14, 2017|work=Politico|access-date=March 14, 2017}} He is also a frequent panelist on Meet the Press.

He is an adjuct faculty at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications of Syracuse University.{{cite web |title=About: Directory: Chris Cillizza |url=https://newhouse.syracuse.edu/people/chris-cillizza |publisher=Newhouse School at Syracuse University |access-date=11 November 2023 |language=en}}

=''The Fix''=

Cillizza founded the blog The Fix in 2005 and wrote for it on a regular basis until he joined CNN in 2017.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/03/13/cnn-hires-chris-cillizza-away-from-the-washington-post/|title=CNN hires Chris Cillizza away from The Washington Post|last=Wemple|first=Erik|date=March 13, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 14, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}} The blog's focus was American electoral politics, with Cillizza commenting on gubernatorial, Congressional and presidential elections. He hosted the weekly Fix live chat.

=Media=

From 2007 to 2008, Cillizza was a co-host of the MySpace/MTV Presidential Dialogues, which hosted John McCain, Barack Obama, and others in a live-streamed, interactive Presidential event series. Cillizza and fellow The Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank appeared in a series of humor videos called Mouthpiece Theater, hosted by The Washington Post. An outcry followed a video in which, during a discussion of the White House "Beer Summit", they chose new brands for a number of people, including "Mad Bitch Beer" for Hillary Clinton. Both men apologized for the video and the series was canceled.Howard Kurtz, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/05/AR2009080502394.html "Post's Video 'Theater' Ends Its Run: Hosts Apologize for Off-Color Clinton Joke"], washingtonpost.com, August 6, 2009; accessed March 15, 2014.

In July 2012, Broadway Books (a division of Penguin Random House) released his book, The Gospel According to the Fix.{{Cite web|url=http://crownpublishing.com/2011/08/press-release-gospel-according-to-the-fix-by-chris-cillizza/|title=Press Release: Gospel According to The Fix by Chris Cillizza|date=August 16, 2011|website=The Crown Publishing Group|language=en-US|access-date=July 10, 2016}} Written in a blog-like format,{{Cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-307-98709-9|title=Nonfiction Book Review: The Gospel According to the Fix: An Insider's Guide to a Less than Holy World of Politics by Chris Cillizza.|website=Publishers Weekly|publisher=PWxyz LLC|access-date=July 10, 2016}} it contains lists such as "The 10 Best/Worst Negative Ads", as well as coverage of the "deep personal hatreds that politics provoke" and predictions for the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443570904577543764270472298|title=Politics as a Spectator Sport|last=Kurson|first=Ken|date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|issn=0099-9660|access-date=July 10, 2016}}

Since 2014, Cillizza has served a regular co-host of The Tony Kornheiser Show.{{Cite news|url=http://awfulannouncing.com/2016/tony-kornheiser-ending-d-c-radio-show-starting-podcast-in-september.html|title=Tony Kornheiser ending D.C. radio show, starting podcast in September|last=Casselberry|first=Ian|date=June 2, 2016|work=Awful Announcing|access-date=March 14, 2017|language=en-US}}

=CNN=

On April 3, 2017, Cillizza joined CNN as a "political reporter and digital editor-at-large," contributing online and on television.{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/media/323651-chris-cillizza-jumps-from-washington-post-and-msnbc-to-cnn/|title=Chris Cillizza jumps from Washington Post and MSNBC to CNN|last=Balluck|first=Kyle|date=March 13, 2017|work= The Hill|access-date=March 14, 2017}}

On June 28, 2017, CNN Politics announced the launch of "The Point with Chris Cillizza." According to the official press release, the new "multiplatform brand" will include "daily columns, on-air analysis, an evening newsletter, [a] podcast, and the launch of trivia night events in Washington, DC."{{Cite web|url=http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2017/06/28/cnn-politics-launches-the-point-with-chris-cillizza/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628165001/http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2017/06/28/cnn-politics-launches-the-point-with-chris-cillizza/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 28, 2017|title=CNN Politics Launches 'The Point with Chris Cillizza'|date=June 28, 2017|website=CNN|access-date=June 29, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/339820-cnn-launching-brand-around-chris-cillizza/|title=CNN launching brand around Chris Cillizza|last=Balluck|first=Kyle|date=June 28, 2017|work= The Hill|access-date=June 29, 2017}} The show which is on YouTube releases political analysis videos hosted by Cillizza every Tuesday and Thursday.

Cillizza also runs political trivia on his personal Instagram account on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

On December 1, 2022, Cillizza was laid off from CNN.{{cite news | last=Steinberg | first=Brian | title=HLN Gutted By CNN Layoffs | date=December 1, 2022 | url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/cnn-layoffs-hln-robin-meade-1235446737/ | quote=CNN executives were expected to inform staffers about layoffs at the network Thursday morning, according to these people. CNN correspondents Alison Kosik, Martin Savidge, Alex Field, Mary Ann Fox and Chris Cilizza are among the staffers who have been let go, according to two people familiar with the matter. }}

Reception

Columbia Journalism Review has described Cillizza's informal, "everyman" style as being popular with readers. According to reviewers, "Chris Cillizza might be the only person in America who can have goofy fun talking about Trumpcare, Russian election interference, and the emoluments clause... Consequently, Cillizza tends to be a fly trap for criticism about his criticism." Jay Rosen has compared his approach to infotainment which turns political analysis into gamesmanship detached from real-world implications.{{cite web|last1=Rosen|first1=Jay|author-link1=Jay Rosen|title=Behold how badly our political journalists have lost the freakin' plot - PressThink|url=http://pressthink.org/2014/02/behold-how-badly-our-political-journalists-have-lost-the-freakin-plot/|website=PressThink|publisher=New York University|access-date=March 11, 2018|date=February 7, 2014}} Former CNN host Soledad O'Brien has described Cillizza's work as facile.{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/ex-cnn-host-soledad-obrien-hits-chris-cillizza-for-terrible-analysis/article/2650906|title=Ex-CNN host Soledad O'Brien hits Chris Cillizza for 'terrible analysis'|date=March 7, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://splinternews.com/rip-chris-cillizza-owned-to-death-by-soledad-obrien-w-1823576610|title=RIP Chris Cillizza, Owned To Death by Soledad O'Brien, We Hardly Knew Ye|first=Isha|last=Aran|work=Splinter |date=March 7, 2018 }} David Weigel has criticized Cillizza for focusing on predictions rather than factual analysis.{{cite news|last1=Weigel|first1=David|author-link1=David Weigel|title=CBOghazi: Journalists Have No Idea "What Will Matter" in an Election|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2014/02/05/cboghazi_journalists_have_no_idea_what_will_matter_in_an_election.html|access-date=March 11, 2018|work=Slate|date=February 5, 2014}} In September 2020, Cillizza wrote an article stating that election models showed Donald Trump as having "almost no chance" in the upcoming election.{{Cite web |last=Cillizza |first=Chris |date=2020-09-30 |title=*Every* election model shows Donald Trump is a long shot {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/30/politics/2020-election-models-trump-odds-biden/index.html |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=CNN |language=en}} Political commentator Nate Silver criticized Cillizza's interpretation, tweeting "If you don't do any reporting, have never demonstrated any insight about politics, and don't even write particularly well, you'd think you could at the very least understand that 20% ≠ 0%."{{Cite web |date=2020-10-01 |title=Nate Silver on Twitter |url=https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1311686276261777418 |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=X (formerly Twitter) |language=en}} Cillizza, along with Mark Halperin and Ron Fournier, was cited by Felix Biederman and Virgil Texas as one of the inspirations for their parody political pundit Carl Diggler.{{cite web |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/the-parody-pundit-we-deserve |title=The Parody Pundit We Deserve |last=Marantz |first=Andrew |date=October 10, 2016 |website=newyorker.com |access-date=January 10, 2019}}