Molly Ball

{{Infobox person

| name = Molly Ball

| image = Molly Ball in 2017.jpg

| caption = Ball in 2017

| occupation = {{hlist|Political journalist|writer}}

| education = {{plainlist|

| spouse = David Kihara

| awards = {{Plainlist|

{{Awards|Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting|year=2013}}
{{Awards|SPJ Sigma Delta Chi Award|year=2016}}

}}

Molly Ball is an American political journalist and writer. She is the senior political correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.{{Cite tweet |user=mollyesque |number=1706426506593923307 |title=Some news about me: I have a new job!}} She is the author of a 2020 biography of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Early life and education

Ball was raised in Colorado and Idaho. She graduated from Cherry Creek High School in the Denver suburb of Greenwood Village in 1997. She attended Yale University, where she wrote for The Yale Herald.{{Cite web |title=Washingtonpost.com: Journalism Internships for College Students |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/post/intern/intbio01.htm |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.washingtonpost.com}} and graduated in 2001.{{cite web|title=Molly Ball (profile of)|url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/profile/molly-ball|work=Washington Week|publisher=PBS|accessdate=2020-05-10|archive-date=April 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430051204/https://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/profile/molly-ball|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://news.yale.edu/2013/07/11/yalewomen-boundless-ambition-local-action|title=For Yale Women, boundless ambition, local action|date=July 11, 2013|website=YaleNews}}

Career

In 2001, Ball had a summer internship at The Washington Post, then in January 2002 moved to Cambodia and spent one year and three months reporting for The Cambodia Daily.{{Cite web |last=Ball |first=Molly |authorlink= |date=September 27, 2023 |title=An announcement And a reflection on my career in journalism |url=https://mollyball.substack.com/p/an-announcement |archive-url= |archive-date= |accessdate= |website=mollyball.substack.com}} Her stint in Cambodia was cut short due to falling ill and having to return to the United States for medical treatment. Subsequently, she has worked as a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Politico, The Atlantic, Time, and The Wall Street Journal.

Recognition

In 2019, Ball received the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency for her coverage of the Trump administration.{{cite web |title=Reporting Prizes: Reporting on the Presidency 2019 |url=https://geraldrfordfoundation.org/reporting-on-the-presidency-2019/ |publisher=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation |accessdate=2020-05-10 |date=June 4, 2019}} Other awards she has received include the Lee Walczak Award for Political Analysis, the Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Award, and the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting.{{cite web |title=Molly Ball |url=https://pulitzercenter.org/people/molly-ball |website=Pulitzer Center |accessdate=May 22, 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522193039/https://pulitzercenter.org/people/molly-ball |archivedate=May 22, 2020}} Ball received the 2020 Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress from the National Press Foundation for her reporting on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which judges called "authoritative," "compelling" and "nuanced."{{cite web |title=Molly Ball Wins Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress |url=https://nationalpress.org/award-story/molly-ball-of-time-wins-dirksen-award/|publisher=National Press Foundation |accessdate=2021-07-14 |date=December 1, 2020}} She was recognized as Outstanding Journalist in Print in the 2020 Washington Women in Journalism awards.{{cite web |title=Meet the Winners of the 2020 Washington Women in Journalism Awards |url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/09/22/meet-the-winners-of-the-2020-washington-women-in-journalism-awards/ |work=Washingtonian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119025124/https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/09/22/meet-the-winners-of-the-2020-washington-women-in-journalism-awards/ |archive-date=January 19, 2021 |url-status=live |accessdate=2021-07-14 |date=September 22, 2020}}

Criticisms, controversies and legal dispute

In 2015, James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal criticized Ball's treatment of a Trump supporter in an article Ball wrote for The Atlantic titled, "The Ecstasy of Donald Trump",{{Cite web |last=Ball |first=Molly |date=2015-11-26 |title=The Ecstasy of Donald Trump |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/the-ecstasy-of-donald-trump/417870/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}} observing that she described the supporter with "a leathery complexion and yellow teeth", which Taranto argued was an instance of media bias and disrespect towards ordinary citizens.{{Cite web |last=Ball |first=Molly |date=2015-12-02 |title="Yellow Teeth" and Descriptive Journalism |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/yellow-teeth-and-descriptive-journalism/625633/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Taranto |first=James |date=November 27, 2015 |title=Bully for Whom |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/bully-for-whom-1448647860 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=June 20, 2024 |website=Wall Street Journal}} In 2021, Ball's Time magazine article, "The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election", described efforts by political groups, business leaders, and activists to influence the 2020 election. While Ball characterized this as protecting election integrity, critics questioned her journalistic ethics and objectivity.{{Cite web |last=Wulfsohn |first=Joseph |date=2021-02-05 |title=Time report touts 'cabal of powerful people' behind 'conspiracy,' 'shadow campaign' to shape election |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/time-mag-report-touting-cabal-of-of-powerful-people-behind-conspiracy-shadow-campaign-to-shape-election |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2021-02-10 |title=Irresponsible Hype from Molly Ball and Time Magazine |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/02/irresponsible-hype-from-molly-ball-and-time-magazine/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=National Review |language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine |last=Ball |first=Molly |date=2021-02-04 |title=The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election |url=https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=PEYTON |first=arlie] |date=2022-12-03 |title=Why Time Magazine's Shadow Campaign Story Is Frightening |url=https://arliepeyton.medium.com/why-time-magazines-shadow-campaign-story-is-frightening-c7b2e153178 |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=Medium |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=A Saintly Conspiracy to Save Democracy? -Capital Research Center |url=https://capitalresearch.org/article/a-saintly-conspiracy-to-save-democracy/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=capitalresearch.org}}{{Cite web |title=The Groups and Persons Mentioned in Time's "Shadow Campaign" Article -Capital Research Center |url=https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-groups-and-persons-mentioned-in-times-shadow-campaign-article/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=capitalresearch.org}}

In December 2019, Ball and The Atlantic were sued for defamation and invasion of privacy in the Tokyo District Court, Japan, by the family of Bernard Krisher over a piece by Ball titled "When the Presses Stop" published in January/February 2018 edition of the magazine.{{Cite news |last=Ball |first=Molly |date=2017-12-08 |title=When the Presses Stop |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/01/the-cambodia-daily-bernie-krisher/546563/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |work=The Atlantic |language=en |issn=2151-9463}}{{Cite news |last=Wemple |first=Erik |date=2024-03-01 |title=Opinion {{!}} Settlement in Japanese court ends embarrassing episode for the Atlantic |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/02/29/atlantic-krisher-japan-cambodia-settlement/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} The case went to trial and settled in January 2024. As part of the legal settlement the magazine made numerous deletions, corrections and clarifications to the article. This included correcting Ball's claim that Krisher, who was her employer at The Cambodia Daily, did nothing to help her with a health insurance issue, which was proven false by emails showing Krisher had indeed attempted to assist her. Additionally, Ball was required to erase and destroy all copies of the photographs she had taken without the subjects' knowledge and consent during her visit to their private quarters.{{Cite web |title=Legacy battle {{!}} FCCJ |url=https://www.fccj.or.jp/number-1-shimbun-article/legacy-battle |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=www.fccj.or.jp}}

Personal life

Ball is of Jewish heritage.{{Cite tweet |title=...almost--almost!--makes me want to get high with my own neurotic Jewish mom|user=mollyesque |number=738203718244536320}} She lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband, David Kihara, an editor at Politico, and their three children.{{Cite tweet |user=mollyesque |number=614559742070030337 |title=Happening now: Lively debate on my Arlington, VA, neighborhood listserv about whether to rename the Jefferson Davis Highway.}}{{Cite news|last= Friess|first=Steve|date=July 1, 2013|newspaper= KNPR|title=The neon story machine: Former Vegas journos strike it big in D.C.|url=https://knpr.org/magazine-desert-companion/2013-07-01/the-neon-story-machine-former-vegas-journos-strike-it-big-in-d-c|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|quote=Ball, a staff writer for The Atlantic who lived in Las Vegas from 2004 to 2009 and whose husband, former R-J cops reporter David Kihara, is managing editor for the website of WJLA, the ABC affiliate in D.C}}

In 2007, she won $100,000 on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.