Martin Baron

{{About||the French Paralympic footballer|Martin Baron (footballer)}}

{{Infobox person

| image = Pulitzer2018-marty-baron-20180530-wp.jpg

| caption = Baron in 2018

| name = Martin Baron

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|10|24}}

| birth_place = Tampa, Florida, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation =

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| alma mater = Lehigh University (BA and MBA)

| spouse =

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| credits = The Boston Globe,
The New York Times,
The Washington Post,
The Los Angeles Times,
The Miami Herald

| URL =

}}

Martin Baron (born October 24, 1954) is an American journalist who was editor of The Washington Post from December 31, 2012, until his retirement on February 28, 2021.{{cite news |last1=Robertson |first1=Katie |title=Marty Baron Will Retire From The Washington Post |work=The New York Times |date=26 January 2021 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/business/media/marty-baron-retirement-washington-post.html?referrer=masthead |access-date=26 January 2021}} He was previously editor of The Boston Globe from 2001 to 2012; during that period, the Globe{{'}}s coverage of the Boston Catholic sexual abuse scandal earned a Pulitzer Prize.

Early life and education

Baron was born to a Jewish family in Tampa, Florida.{{Cite magazine|last= Starobin |first= Paul |title= Martin Baron's Plan to Save The Washington Post |magazine=The New Republic |date=December 17, 2012 |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/111173/martin-barons-plan-save-washington-post-invest-metro-coverage}} His parents emigrated from Israel. He attended Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, where he worked on the school's student paper.

Baron attended Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he was editor of The Brown and White student newspaper. He received special permission to take graduate classes as an undergraduate{{cite web |url=https://www2.lehigh.edu/news/marty-baron-celebrates-the-brown-and-whites-125th-anniversary |last=Gross |first=Stephen |title=Marty Baron Celebrates The Brown and White’s 125th Anniversary |work=Lehigh University |date=September 27, 2019 |access-date=November 20, 2024 }} and graduated in 1976, earning a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and MBA with honors in four years.{{cite magazine |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/111173/martin-barons-plan-save-washington-post-invest-metro-coverage |title=Martin Baron's Plan to Save The Washington Post |first=Paul |last=Starobin |date=17 December 2012 |magazine=The New Republic |access-date=13 February 2016}}

Baron is fluent in Spanish.{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/oct/30/martin-baron-we-took-donald-trump-seriously-from-the-beginning | title=Martin Baron: 'We took Donald Trump seriously from the beginning' | work=The Guardian | date=October 30, 2016 | access-date=29 December 2016 | author=Silver, James}}

Career

In 1976, after graduation, Baron began working for The Miami Herald. In 1979, he moved to The Los Angeles Times. In 1996, he joined The New York Times.Holmes, Baxter (November 24, 2015). "[http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a39968/martin-baron-spotlight-washington-post/ Is Martin Baron the Best News Editor of All Time?]". Esquire. esquire.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017. Baron returned to the Miami Herald as executive editor in 2000, where he led coverage of several key stories, including Elián González's return to Cuba and the 2000 election.{{Cite web|url=http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/caseconsortium/casestudies/14/casestudy/www/layout/case_id_14_id_77_c_bio.html|title=Biography: Martin Baron {{!}} Reporting an Explosive Truth: The Boston Globe and Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church|website=ccnmtl.columbia.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-10-02}}

=''The Boston Globe''=

In July 2001, Baron succeeded Matthew V. Storin as executive editor of The Boston Globe.Kennedy, Dan (July 19, 2001). "[http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/top/features/documents/01721875.htm Goodbye to all that: Marty Baron's arrival at the Boston Globe marks not just the end of the Matt Storin era, but of the Tom Winship era as well] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023035303/http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/top/features/documents/01721875.htm |date=2010-10-23 }}". The Phoenix (Boston). Retrieved 23 March 2017.The Boston Globe (July 2, 2001). "[http://extranotes.globe.com/ExtPressReleases.nsf/HTML%5CPressReleases/8d85cc7fa629e36e85256a7d006775ca Martin Baron of The Miami Herald is named Editor of The Boston Globe as Globe Editor Matthew V. Storin announces his retirement]" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313084311/http://extranotes.globe.com/ExtPressReleases.nsf/HTML%5CPressReleases/8d85cc7fa629e36e85256a7d006775ca |date=2007-03-13 }}. Press release. His editorial term at The Globe shifted the paper's coverage from international events toward locally centered investigative journalism. The Globe{{'}}s coverage of the Boston Catholic sexual abuse scandal earned a Pulitzer Prize in 2003.

In 2012, Baron was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.{{Cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2012/10/07/daniel-day-lewis-celebrates-with-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences-inductees-in-cambridge|title=Daniel Day-Lewis celebrates with American Academy of Arts and Sciences inductees in Cambridge|date=2012-10-07|work=Boston.com|access-date=2017-10-03|language=en-US}}

=''The Washington Post''=

In January 2013, Baron succeeded Marcus Brauchli as executive editor of The Washington Post.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/mobile/national/washington-post-co-timeline/374/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224014436/https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/mobile/national/washington-post-co-timeline/374/|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 February 2016|title=Washington Post Timeline|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=7 February 2016}} In 2014, the Post won two Pulitzer Prizes, one in the category of public service for revelations of secret surveillance by the National Security Agency and the other for explanatory journalism about food stamps in America. The following year, in 2015, the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for its coverage of security lapses in the Secret Service; in 2016, it won the Pulitzer Prize in the category of national reporting for a groundbreaking project that chronicled every killing by a police officer in 2015. The following year, in 2016, it won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for exposing Donald Trump's claims of charitable giving and the Access Hollywood tape. In 2018, it won two Pulitzer Prizes, one in the category of investigative reporting for revealing allegations of sexual misconduct by Roy Moore and the other for national reporting on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Baron supervised the writing team, including Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher, who authored the 2016 biography Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power.{{citation|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/washington-post-donald-trump-book_us_570ba43fe4b0836057a19abe|access-date=June 22, 2017|work=The Huffington Post|date=April 11, 2016|title=The Washington Post Plans To Write The Book On Donald Trump - But the paper isn't expecting to hold back scoops in the process.|first=Michael|last=Calderone}}

For his work in journalism, Baron was awarded the 2016 Hitchens Prize.{{cite web |title=2016 Prize - Marty Baron |url=http://www.dvrf.org/2016-ceremony |publisher=The Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation}} In 2017, he received the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media.{{Cite web|url=http://www.usd.edu/news/2017/usd-honors-washington-post-editor-marty-baron-with-2017-al-neuharth-award|title=USD Honors Washington Post Editor Marty Baron with 2017 Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in The Media {{!}} USD|website=www.usd.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-10-02}}

In May 2019, Baron defended WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, saying, "Dating as far back as the Pentagon Papers case and beyond, journalists have been receiving and reporting on information that the government deemed classified. Wrongdoing and abuse of power were exposed. With the new indictment of Julian Assange, the government is advancing a legal argument that places such important work in jeopardy and undermines the very purpose of the First Amendment."{{cite news |title=Washington Post, New York Times editors blast Assange indictment |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/445426-washington-post-new-york-times-editors-blast-assange-indictment |work=The Hill |date=May 24, 2019}}

In January 2020, Baron criticized a Post reporter who sent a Tweet about the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case after Bryant's death. The reporter, Felicia Sonmez, was later suspended. However, The Washington Post guild criticized the move and she was subsequently reinstated.{{cite news |last=Abrams |first=Rachel|date=January 27, 2020 |title=Washington Post Suspends a Reporter After Her Tweets on Kobe Bryant |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/business/media/kobe-bryant-washington-post-felicia-sonmez.html|work= New York Times|location=New York |access-date=January 27, 2020 }} Baron issued a three-page statement but did not apologize.{{cite news |last=Darcy|first=Oliver|date=January 31, 2020 |title=Washington Post's top editor sends memo to staff after backlash over handling of reporter's Kobe Bryant tweets|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/30/media/washington-post-marty-baron-felicia-sonmez/index.html|work= CNN|access-date=January 31, 2020 }}

In January 2021, Baron announced his retirement from The Washington Post effective February 28, 2021.{{cite news |last=Stelter |first=Brian |date=January 26, 2021 |title=Washington Post editor Marty Baron announces his retirement |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/26/media/marty-baron/index.html |work=CNN |access-date=January 26, 2021}} In his note, he advocated for Section 230 protections for social media companies.{{Cite web|title=Ex-Washington Post editor: Big Tech does 'a lot of harm' but has 'advantages'|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ex-washington-post-editor-big-tech-does-a-lot-of-harm-but-has-advantages-134046588.html|access-date=2021-11-28|website=finance.yahoo.com|date=6 August 2021 |language=en-US}}

In October 2024, Baron spoke out emphatically against The Washington Post's decision to not endorse a Presidential candidate for the first time since 1988, calling it "cowardice, with democracy as its casualty".{{cite news |last1=Andersen |first1=Travis |title=Former Washington Post editor Marty Baron slams newspaper for not making presidential endorsement |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/10/25/metro/marty-baron-slams-washington-post-for-not-making-endorsement/ |access-date=26 October 2024 |work=The Boston Globe |date=25 October 2024}}

Popular culture

In the 2015 film Spotlight, which focuses on The Boston Globe{{'}}s coverage of the Boston Catholic Church's priest child molestation scandal, Baron is played by Liev Schreiber. {{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/billy-crudup-talks-catholic-church-728613 |title=Billy Crudup in Talks for Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal Film 'Spotlight' (Exclusive) |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=August 27, 2014 |first1=Tatiana |last1=Siegel |first2=Borys |last2=Kit |access-date=November 20, 2024}} The film won the award for Best Picture at the 88th Academy Awards.{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/oscars/12177281/Spotlight-shocks-by-winning-Best-Picture-Oscar-at-the-Academy-Awards.html |title=Spotlight shocks by winning Best Picture Oscar at the Academy Awards |work=Daily Telegraph |last=Horton|first=Helena|date=February 29, 2016 |access-date=October 3, 2017 |language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}

Books

{{Cite book |last=Baron |first=Martin |date=3 October 2023 |title=Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post |location=New York |publisher=Flatiron Books |isbn=9781250844200 |oclc=1380465038}}