Dafna Linzer
{{Short description|Canadian-American journalist}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Dafna Linzer
|image = 2019 - Future Societies - Day 1 PM1 3422 (49018900093).jpg
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|10|21}}
|birth_place = Canada
|death_date =
|death_place =
|partner = Barton Gellman
}}
Dafna Linzer (born October 21, 1970){{cite web | url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/21/playbook-birthday-of-the-day-dafna-linzer-920683 | title=BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Dafna Linzer, managing editor of politics for NBC News and MSNBC | website=Politico }} is a Canadian-American journalist who was the executive editor of Politico between 2022 and 2023.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Ted |date=2022-03-23 |title=Dafna Linzer Named Executive Editor Of Politico |url=https://deadline.com/2022/03/dafna-linzer-politico-executive-editor-1234985241/ |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/09/business/media/politico-dafna-linzer.html |title=Politico's Executive Editor Steps Down After a Year in the Job |date=2023-03-09 |last=Robertson |first=Katie |newspaper=The New York Times}} Since October 2015, she had been managing editor of politics for NBC News and MSNBC, with a role spanning broadcast and digital coverage on both networks for the 2016 election campaign. Linzer was formerly managing editor of MSNBC; senior reporter at ProPublica; foreign correspondent for the Associated Press; and national security reporter for The Washington Post.
Early life
Linzer was born in 1970 and raised in Canada.Dafna Linzer, [https://www.propublica.org/article/how-i-passed-my-us-citizenship-test-by-keeping-the-right-answers-to-myself How I Passed My U.S. Citizenship Test: By Keeping the Right Answers to Myself How I Passed My U.S. Citizenship Test: By Keeping the Right Answers to Myself], ProPublica (February 23, 2011) (co-published with Slate as [http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/hey_wait_a_minute/2011/02/the_problem_with_question_36.single.html The Problem With Question 36: Why are so many of the answers on the U.S. citizenship test wrong?]. She is of Jewish descent.{{Cite web|first= Dafna|last=Linzer |authorlink= |title= "Being Jewish is important to me" @BernieSanders tells Jewish student at @UChicago. "I am proud to be Jewish." |website=Twitter|date=February 25, 2016 |url=https://twitter.com/dafnalinzer/status/703036883937394688 |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}
Career
Linzer was a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press, based in Jerusalem. She then became a national security reporter for The Washington Post, where she covered intelligence and nonproliferation, and reported on the futile search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.John Eggerton, [http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/dafna-linzer-named-politics-managing-editor-nbc-msnbc/144840 Dafna Linzer Named Politics Managing Editor for NBC, MSNBC], Broadcasting & Cable (October 8, 2015).Maggie Steenland, [http://press.nbcnews.com/2015/10/08/announcement-from-deborah-turness-and-phil-griffin/ Announcement from Deborah Turness and Phil Griffin], MSNBC/NBC News (October 8, 2015).Dylan Byers, [http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/03/msnbccom-hires-propublicas-linzer-159638 MSNBC.com hires ProPublica's Linzer] (March 18, 2013).
In February 2008, the non-profit journalism organization ProPublica announced that Linzer (along with Jeff Gerth) would be joining the project as senior reporters.Jim Romenesko, [http://www.poynter.org/2008/propublica-hires-washington-posts-linzer-ex-nyter-gerth/87130/ ProPublica hires Washington Post's Linzer, ex-NYTer Gerth], Poynter Institute for Media Studies (February 20, 2008). At ProPublica, Linzer wrote the "Shades of Mercy" series on racial bias in presidential pardons. The series was a finalist for the Harvard Shorenstein Center's Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.[https://www.propublica.org/site/author/dafna_linzer About Us: Dafna Linzer], ProPublica. Linzer also conducted work on the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under the Obama presidency, which won a 2010 Overseas Press Club Award and an honorable mention for the Silver Gavel Awards of the American Bar Association.
In 2013, Linzer joined MSNBC as managing editor of MSNBC digital. In October 2015, Linzer was named to the newly created position of managing editor of politics for NBC News and MSNBC, dividing her time between Washington and New York. In this post, Linzer oversees the political desk and reports to NBC News president Deborah Turness and MSNBC president Phil Griffin.
In March 2019, Linzer was criticized in a Twitter thread by journalist Yashar Ali for what he called "inappropriate and unethical" conduct.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1111678823072854016|title=Twitter thread by @yashar|last=Ali|first=Yashar|date=2019-03-29|language=en}} Ali claimed that Linzer had bullied him on behalf of the Democratic National Committee to delay a story for publication. He wrote, "I realized that @DafnaLinzer, the head of all political coverage for NBC News and MSNBC wasn't calling to advocate for her network, she was calling to advocate the DNC's position. She wanted me to wait so they could call state party leaders".{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/msnbc-nbc-news-top-political-editor-accused-of-trying-to-intimidate-reporter-on-behalf-of-the-dnc|title = MSNBC, NBC News top political editor accused of 'trying to intimidate' reporter on 'behalf of the DNC'|website = Fox News|date = 29 March 2019}}{{Cite web|url = https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/mar/29/dafna-linzer-msnbc-top-editor-accused-of-bullying-/|title = This story is no longer available - Washington Times|website = The Washington Times|access-date = 2019-03-30|archive-date = 2019-03-30|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190330103045/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/mar/29/dafna-linzer-msnbc-top-editor-accused-of-bullying-/|url-status = dead}}
Personal life
Linzer's partner is Barton Gellman, who is also a writer and journalist.Eric Umansky, [https://www.propublica.org/article/qa-bart-gellman-author-of-angler-the-cheney-vice-presidency-923 Talking with the Washington Post's Barton Gellman], ProPublica (September 23, 2008).
She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in January 2011. Linzer has noted a number of accepted answers to the U.S. citizenship test are erroneous or incomplete.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography}}
- [http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/19677 Video (with mp3 available) of conversation with Linzer] and Mark Danner on Bloggingheads.tv
- {{C-SPAN|1012934}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linzer, Dafna}}
Category:American women journalists
Category:American political writers
Category:The Washington Post people
Category:Associated Press reporters