Ron Fournier

Fournier is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He attended the University of Detroit. His wife, Lori, is also a graduate of the University of Detroit. They have three children, Holly, Gabrielle, and Tyler, all reared in Arlington County, Virginia.http://www.iop.harvard.edu/ron-fournier Ron Fournier

Fournier began his journalism career in 1985 at The Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Two years later, he moved to the Arkansas Democrat in Little Rock, Arkansas. He stayed there for another two years before joining the Little Rock bureau of the AP in 1989. While there, he covered Bill Clinton during his final term as governor. When Clinton was elected president, Fournier moved to the AP's Washington bureau.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/08/14/the-aps-fournier-down-to-the-wire/3bb15188-9238-40a7-95c2-c9a5af78d86e/ |title=The AP's Fournier, Down to the Wire |date=2000-08-14 |author1=Howard Kurtz |newspaper=The Washington Post |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}}

Fournier first left the AP in 2004 to take a Harvard Institute of Politics fellowship. During that period, he also co-wrote the book Applebee's America{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7432-8718-0|title=Nonfiction Book Review: Applebee's America: How Successful Political, Business, and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community by Douglas b. Sosnik, Author, Matthew J. Dowd, Author, Ron Fournier, Author . Simon & Schuster $26 (260p) ISBN 978-0-7432-8718-0|website=PublishersWeekly.com|date=September 2006 |access-date=June 30, 2019}} with Matthew Dowd, then-Republican strategist who went on to be Independent, and Doug Sosnik, a Democratic strategist. In 2006, he took a position as editor-in-chief of a new Internet website called Hotsoup.com, which aimed to foster discussion on a number of topics including politics. The site failed to catch on, however, and Fournier returned to the AP in March 2007 as its Online Political Editor, after considering “a senior advisory role” with Republican Senator John McCain's presidential campaign.{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Calderone |title=One of Fournier's job options: McCain |url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=70AFE0F1-3048-5C12-001A56872008C572 |publisher=Politico |date=2008-07-30 |access-date=2008-08-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080826055210/http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=70AFE0F1-3048-5C12-001A56872008C572 |archive-date=2008-08-26 }}

In May 2008, Fournier was named the acting Washington bureau chief, replacing his "mentor" Sandy Johnson. Michael Calderone wrote that since taking over the position, Fournier has led a dramatic shift in the AP's policy, moving it away from the neutral and objective tone it had become known for and toward a more opinionated style that would make judgments when conflicting opinions were presented in a story.{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Calderone |title= Is Fournier saving or destroying the AP?|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2008/07/is-fournier-saving-or-destroying-the-ap-011716|publisher= Politico|date=July 14, 2008 |access-date=2016-09-11}}

Fournier joined Crain's Detroit Business in 2016,{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/fournier-detroit/494678/|title=You Can Go Home Again|first=Ron|last=Fournier|date=August 8, 2016|website=The Atlantic|access-date=June 30, 2019}} becoming publisher and editor in 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2017/01/09/ron-fournier-named-publisher-crains/96322268/|title=Ron Fournier named publisher at Crain's|website=Detroit News|access-date=June 30, 2019}} About this time, he wrote a second book – Love That Boy: What Two Presidents, Eight Road Trips, and My Son Taught Me About a Parent's Expectations.http://lovethatboybook.com/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603105619/http://lovethatboybook.com/ |date=June 3, 2019 }} {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}} Published in 2016, the book chronicles what he learned about being a parent on a series of road trips with his son, Tyler, who has Asperger syndrome.

Fournier currently serves on the board of directors of the Autism Alliance of Michigan.{{cite web|url=https://autismallianceofmichigan.org/our-board/|title=Our Board - Autism Alliance of Michigan|website=autismallianceofmichigan.org|access-date=June 30, 2019}} He also is a trustee of the University of Detroit Mercy.{{cite web|url=https://www.udmercy.edu/about/leadership/board.php|title=Board of Trustees|website=udmercy.edu|access-date=June 15, 2020}}

He won the Society of Professional Journalists' 2000 Sigma Delta Chi Award for coverage of the 2000 United States presidential election.{{cite web|url=https://www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=132|title=SPJ Names Winners of the 2000 Sigma Delta Chi Awards for Excellence in Journalism|website=www.spj.org|access-date=June 30, 2019}} He received a 2012 Sidney Award{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/28/opinion/brooks-the-2012-sidney-awards-part-ii.html|title=Opinion - The 2012 Sidney Awards, Part 2|first=David|last=Brooks|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 27, 2012|publisher=|access-date=June 30, 2019}} honorable mention for the article "In Nothing We Trust",{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/04/in-nothing-we-trust/461160/|title=In Nothing We Trust|first=Ron Fournier, Sophie Quinton, National|last=Journal|date=April 19, 2012|website=The Atlantic|access-date=June 30, 2019}} coauthored with Sophie Quinton.{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/author/sophie-quinton/|title=Sophie Quinton|last=Sophie Quinton|website=The Atlantic|date=June 17, 2015 |access-date=June 30, 2019}} He is also a three-time winner of the White House Correspondents' Association Merriman Smith award.{{cite web|url=https://whca.press/awards/past-winners/|title=Past Winners|website=whca.press|access-date=June 30, 2019}}

In February 2013, Fournier wrote a column about breaking ties with a White House official after a pattern of "vulgarity, abusive language" and "veiled threat(s)", but did not identify the official due to his policy of granting blanket automatic anonymity to all his sources.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/why-bob-woodward-s-fight-with-the-white-house-matters-to-you-20130228|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303010101/http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/why-bob-woodward-s-fight-with-the-white-house-matters-to-you-20130228|url-status=dead|title=Why Bob Woodward's Fight With The White House Matters to You|archivedate=March 3, 2013}} Fournier received some criticism from commentator Glenn Greenwald for behaving in a "petulant" manner and for his policy on anonymity for sources.{{cite news|last1=Greenwald|first1=Glenn|author-link=Glenn Greenwald|title=Ron Fournier's amazing admission about his service to White House officials|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/28/fournier-anonymity-white-house-journalism|access-date=October 20, 2015|work=The Guardian|date=February 28, 2013}}

In 2016, Fournier was duped into interacting with fictional journalist Carl Diggler on Twitter,{{Cite web|last=James|first=Brendan|date=2016-03-02|title=Day of The Diggler: The Media's Most Accurate Political Pundit Is A Joke|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/day-diggler-medias-most-accurate-political-pundit-joke-2329043|access-date=2020-12-20|website=International Business Times}} a character written by Felix Biederman and Virgil Texas of Chapo Trap House for CAFE to satirize "all that is vacuous, elitist and ridiculous about the media class."{{Cite news|last=Texas|first=Virgil|title=Our fictional pundit predicted more correct primary results than Nate Silver did|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/05/09/our-fictional-pundit-predicted-more-correct-primary-results-than-nate-silver-did/|access-date=2020-12-20|issn=0190-8286}} Fournier himself was the principal inspiration for the character, once referred to as "the real life Carl Diggler."{{Cite web|last=Menaker, Will; Christman, Matt; Biederman, Felix|date=May 30, 2016|title=Episode 12 – Love That Ron feat. @VirgilTexas|url=https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/episode-12-love-that-ron-feat-virgiltexas-53016|access-date=December 20, 2020|website=Soundcloud.com}}{{Cite magazine|last=Shephard|first=Alex|date=2016-09-02|title=Ron Fournier's goodbye is the most Ron Fournier article of all time.|magazine=The New Republic|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/136532/ron-fourniers-goodbye-ron-fournier-article-time|access-date=2020-12-20|issn=0028-6583}}

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Category:Living people

Category:American male journalists

Category:Writers from Detroit

Category:Journalists from Detroit

Category:1963 births

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