David S. Broder

David S. Broder
Broder in 2008
Born	David Salzer Broder (1929-09-11)September 11, 1929 Chicago Heights, Illinois,U.S.
Died	March 9, 2011(2011-03-09)(aged 81) Arlington County, Virginia,U.S.
Education	B.A. Liberal ArtsUniversity of Chicago M.A. Political ScienceUniversity of Chicago
Occupations	Journalist, columnist, lecturer, writer
Years active	1953–2011
Spouse	Ann Creighton Collar
Children	4

David Salzer Broder(September 11, 1929– March 9, 2011) was an American journalist, writing forThe Washington Postfor over 40 years.He was also an author, television news showpundit,and university lecturer.

For more than half a century, Broder reported on every presidential campaign, beginning with the1956 United States presidential electionbetweenDwight D. EisenhowerandAdlai Stevenson II.Known as the dean of theWashington, D.C.press corps, Broder made over 400 appearances onNBC'sMeet the Press.TheForbes Media Guide Five Hundred, 1994stated: "Broder is the best of an almost extinct species, the daily news reporter who doubles as an op-ed page columnist....With his solid reporting and shrewd analysis, Broder remains one of the sager voices in Washington."

Early life and education

David Salzer Broder was born to aJewishfamilyinChicago Heights, Illinois,the son of Albert "Doc" Broder, a dentist,and Nina Salzer Broder.

He earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from theUniversity of Chicagoin 1947 and continued his studies there, receiving a master's degree in political science in 1951. While at Chicago, he met fellow student Ann Creighton Collar, and they were married inCrawfordsville, Indiana,in 1951. They had four sons—George, Joshua, Matthew, and Michael—and seven grandchildren.

Early journalism

Broder began working as a journalist while pursuing his master's degree, serving as editor ofThe Chicago Maroonand later at theHyde Park Herald.He was drafted into theU.S. Armyin 1951, where he wrote for the newspaperU.S. Forces Austria (USFA) Sentinel,until he was discharged from the Army in 1953.

In 1953 Broder reported forThe PantagraphinBloomington, Illinois,covering Livingston and Woodford counties in the central part of the state. From there he moved to theCongressional Quarterlyin Washington D.C., in 1955, where he apprenticed under senior reporter Helen Monberg and got his first taste of covering congressional politics. During his four-and-a-half years atCQ,Broder also worked forThe New York Timesas a freelance writer.

In 1960 Broder joinedThe Washington Staras a junior political writer covering thepresidential electionthat year between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. During his five years at theStar,he was promoted to a national political news reporter and was a weekly contributor to the paper's op-ed page.

Broder left theStarforThe New York Timesin 1965, hired by well-knownTimespolitical reporter and columnistTom Wickerto serve in its Washington bureau.

The Washington Postcolumnist

After 18 months atThe New York Times,Broder moved toThe Washington Post,where he would remain for over 40 years, beginning as a reporter and weekly op-ed contributor. Later, he was given a second weekly column. Broder's columns were distributed initially through The Washington Post Wire Service and then later syndicated throughThe Washington Post Writers Group.More than 300 newspapers carried his columns for many years.

The longtime columnist was informally known as the dean of the Washington press corps and the "unofficial chairman of the board" by national political writers.

In May 2008, Broder accepted a buyout offer fromThe Washington PostCo., effective January 1, 2009,but continued to write his twice-weeklyPostcolumn as a contract employee. In a letter to the publications that ran his column, Broder said: "This change will allow me to focus entirely on the column while freeing up thePostto use its budget for other news-section salaries and expenses. "

In June 2008,Ken Silverstein,a columnist atHarper's Magazine,alleged that Broder had accepted free accommodations and thousands of dollars in speaking fees from various business and healthcare groups, in one instance penning an opinion column supporting positions favored by one of the groups.Deborah Howell,The Washington Post's ombudsman at the time, wrote that Broder's acceptance of speaking fees appeared to be a violation of the paper's policy on outside speeches, as was the fact that some of the groups that paid Broder also lobby Congress.Howell pointed out that Broder said "he had cleared his speeches with Milton Coleman, deputy managing editor, or Tom Wilkinson, an assistant managing editor, but neither remembered him mentioning them."

Pulitzer Prize

Broder won thePulitzer Prizefor Commentary in 1973 and was the recipient of numerous awards and academic honors before and after. In hisPulitzer Prizeacceptance speech, Broder said:

Instead of promising "All the News That's Fit to Print," I would like to see us say—over and over until the point has been made—that the newspaper that drops on your doorstep is a partial, hasty, incomplete, inevitably somewhat flawed and inaccurate rendering of some of the things we have heard about in the past 24 hours—distorted, despite our best efforts to eliminate gross bias, by the very process of compression that makes it possible for you to lift it from the doorstep and read it in about an hour. If we labeled the product accurately, then we could immediately add: But it's the best we could do under the circumstances, and we will be back tomorrow with a corrected and updated version.

Meet the Pressand other broadcast media

For many years Broder appeared onWashington Week,Meet the Press,and other network television and radionews programs. It was announced at the close of August 10, 2008, broadcast ofMeet the Pressthat Broder was celebrating his 400th appearance on that program, on which he first appeared July 7, 1963. He appeared far more often than any other person, other than the program's hosts. The next closest person to Broder wasBob Novak,who had appeared onMeet the Pressfewer than 250 times.

Broder was a weekly guest on XM/Sirius Satellite Radio'sThe Bob Edwards Showstarting in October 2004. On the premiere broadcast, Broder was joined by CBS News anchorWalter Cronkiteas the program's first guest. Broder also contributed toThe Bob Edwards Showas a political commentator.

Lecturer and author

In 2001 Broder became a lecturer at theUniversity of Maryland'sPhilip Merrill College of Journalism while continuing to write full-time atThe Washington Post.He generally lectured one class a year on politics and the press, the class meeting at the newspaper. Merrill College Dean Thomas Kunkel described Broder as the nation's "most respected political journalist" when he announced Broder's hire. Broder also lectured atDuke University(1987–88).

External videos
Booknotesinterview with Broder onThe System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking PointMay 5, 1996,C-SPAN
Presentation by Broder and Haynes Johnson onThe System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Pointat the Freedom Forum, July 7, 1996,C-SPAN
Presentation by Broder onDemocracy Derailedat the National Press Club, April 25, 2000,C-SPAN

He is author or co-author of eight books:

• Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money(Harcourt, 2000)ISBN978-0-15-100464-5
• The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking PointwithHaynes Johnson(Little, Brown and Company, 1996)ISBN978-0-316-46969-2
• The Man Who Would be President: Dan QuaylewithBob Woodward(Simon & Schuster, 1992)ISBN978-0-671-79183-4
• Behind the Front Page: A Candid Look at How the News Is Made(Simon & Schuster 1987)ISBN978-0-671-44943-8
• Changing of the Guard: Power and Leadership in America(Simon & Schuster, 1980)ISBN978-0-671-24566-5
• The Party's Over: The Failure of Politics in America(Harper and Row, 1972)ISBN978-0-06-010483-2
• The Republican Establishment: The Present and Future of the G.O.P.withStephen H. Hess(Harper and Row, 1967)ISBN978-0-06-011877-8
• The Pursuit of the Presidency 1980with the staff ofThe Washington Post(Berkeley Books, 1980)ISBN978-0-425-04703-3
• Authored the foreword forThe Ticket-Splitter: A New Force in American Politics 1972Co-Authors:Walter DeVriesand V. Lance Tarrance

Death

Broder died of complications from diabetes on March 9, 2011, at the age of 81.Upon Broder's death,PresidentBarack Obamacalled him the "most respected and incisive political commentator of his generation".

Criticism

The New Yorker's political commentatorHendrik Hertzbergcalled Broder "relentlessly centrist."Frank RichofThe New York Timesdescribed Broder as the nation's "bloviator in chief."

While on vacation, Broder would write his column from his retreat onBeaver Island, Michigan.Writing forSlate,Timothy Noahfound Broder's attempts to merge national affairs with summertime reflections "mind-bendingly dull." Writing in theWashington City Paper,Jack Shaferfelt that Broder managed to merge "the cosmic and common in a stupefying slop of prose."

The left-wing bloggerAtrios,a frequent critic of Broder's work, coined the term High Broderism:

We normally think of "High Broderism" as the worship of bipartisanship for its own sake, combined with a fake "pox on both their houses" attitude. But in reality, this is just the cover Broder uses for his real agenda, the defense of what he perceives to be "the establishment" at all costs.

Depictions in popular culture

He earned substantial attention in two books chronicling the media's coverage of the 1972 presidential campaign betweenRichard NixonandGeorge McGovern,includingTimothy Crouse'sThe Boys on the Busand Gonzo journalistHunter S. Thompson'sFear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72.

Broder's work was also cited in two autobiographies by key figures in the history ofThe Washington Post:Personal HistorybyPostpublisherKatharine Grahamin 1997 andA Good Life: Newspapering and Other AdventuresbyPostexecutive editorBen Bradleein 1995. More recently, Broder was included in formerPostcolumnist Dave Kindred's 2010 book on the paper's struggles in the changing media landscape:Morning Miracle: A Great Newspaper Fights for Its Life.Broder is also mentioned in PresidentBill Clinton's biographyFirst in His ClassbyDavid Maraniss.

Broder earned a place in works of fiction, meriting a mention by aWhite Housesenior staffer to fictional U.S. president Jed Bartlet (portrayed by actorMartin Sheen) on the NBC-TV seriesThe West Wing,and in Steven Spielberg's 2017 filmThe Post.In the 2018 filmThe Front Runner,he is portrayed byJohn Bedford Lloyd.

Awards and recognitions

• Pulitzer Prize for Commentary,1973
• 4th Estate Award from theNational Press Club,1988
• White Burkett Miller Presidential Award in 1989
• Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award(Colby College), 1990
• National Press Foundation's Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award, 1992
• Illinois State Society Distinguished Illinoisans Award,1997
• National Society of Newspaper Columnists Lifetime Achievement Award, 1997
• William Allen White Foundation's Award for Distinguished Achievement in Journalism,1997
• Honorary Doctor of Political Science,DePauw University,May 18, 2003
• Washingtonian Magazine's 50 Best Journalists,2005
• University of Chicago Alumni Medal,June 2005
• Jefferson-Lincoln Award, Panetta Institute for Public Policy,2007
• Washingtonian Magazine's 50 Best Journalists2009
• David S. Broder was inducted as a Laureate ofThe Lincoln Academy of Illinoisand awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2005 in the area of Communications.

Honorary degrees

• Honorary Doctor of Laws,Cleveland State University,1981
• Doctor of Literature,Wittenberg University,1982
• Doctor of Humane Letters,Yale University,1984
• Doctor of Humane Letters,Kalamazoo College,1988
• Honorary Degree,Rider University,1989
• Honorary Doctor of Laws,Lawrence University,1989
• Honorary Degree,University of Michigan,1994
• Doctor of Humane Letters,College of William & Mary,1995
• Doctor of Journalism,University of Miami,1999
• Doctor of Humane Letters,Muhlenberg College,2000
• Honorary Doctor of Political Science,DePauw University,May 18, 2003
• Honorary Degree,Clark University,2005
• Doctor of Humane Letters,Bryant University,2006
• Honorary Doctor of Laws,Ball State University,2006
• Doctor of Humanities,Santa Clara University,2007
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters,Bradley University,May 17, 2008.

External links

• David S. Broder,"Striking out on Egypt and the weather"The Washington Post,February 6, 2011. Final article forThe Washington Post.
• David S. BroderatThe Washington Post
• Faculty profileat the University of Maryland
• AppearancesonC-SPAN
• David S. BroderonCharlie Rose
• David S. BroderatIMDb