Michael Schaffer (journalist)

{{Infobox person

| citizenship = American

| education = Columbia University (BA)

| occupation = Journalist

}}

{{short description|American journalist}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}Michael Schaffer is an American journalist who was editor of the Washingtonian.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2014/06/09/michael-schaffer-named-editor-of-washingtonian/|title=Michael Schaffer Named Editor of Washingtonian

|last=Freed|first=Benjamin|date=9 June 2014|work=Washingtonian|accessdate=10 July 2017}} Previously, he was editorial director of The New Republic and editor Washington City Paper.{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2010/04/27/michael-schaffer-is-new-editor-of-washington-city-paper/|title=Michael Schaffer is New Editor of Washington City Paper|last=Shott|first=Chris|date=April 27, 2010|work=Washington City Paper|publisher=Amy Austin|accessdate=10 July 2010}}

After graduating from Columbia University in 1995,{{Cite web|last=Boss-Bicak|first=Shira|date=October 2009|title=Michael Schaffer '95 on The Sociology of the Pampered Pooch|url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/archive/sep_oct09/bookshelf2|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=November 13, 2020|website=Columbia College Today}} Schaffer was a Fulbright scholar in Sri Lanka.{{Cite web|date=2014-06-09|title=Michael Schaffer Named Editor of Washingtonian {{!}} Washingtonian (DC)|url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2014/06/09/michael-schaffer-named-editor-of-washingtonian/|access-date=2020-11-13|website=Washingtonian|language=en-US}} He began his career as a writer at City Paper, where he eventually became the editor David Carr's deputy. He later worked at U.S. News & World Report, where he covered national politics and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He later worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer, mainly focusing on municipal politics and doing a tour of duty in Iraq. In 2007, he left the Inquirer to work on a book, One Nation Under Dog, published by Henry Holt in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://us.macmillan.com/onenationunderdog|title=One Nation Under Dog|publisher=Macmillan|accessdate=10 July 2010}} The next year, he returned to City Paper, replacing his longtime friend Erik Wemple as editor, a post he served from 2010 to 2012. He has also written for Slate, The Washington Post, POLITICO, Philadelphia, The Daily Beast, The Boston Globe and other publications.

In 2012, Schaffer joined The New Republic as editorial director, shortly after it was bought by Chris Hughes, and played a role in its redesign and online operations. In 2014, Schaffer was named the fourth editor in the Washingtonian's 49-year history. He left the Washingtonian to join Politico in December 2021 as senior editor.{{Cite web |last=Cooke |first=Melissa |title=Michael Schaffer joins POLITICO as Senior Editor of POLITICO Magazine |url=https://politi.co/3ywUN8M |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=Politico |language=en}}