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Maureen Dowd

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Maureen Dowd
Dowd in 2008
Born
Maureen Brigid Dowd

(1952-01-14)January 14, 1952(age 72)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
EducationCatholic University of America(BA)
OccupationJournalist
Years active1974–present
Employer(s)The Washington Star(1974–1981)
Time(1981–1983)
The New York Times(1983–present)

Maureen Brigid Dowd[1](/daʊd/;born January 14, 1952) is an American columnist forThe New York Timesand an author.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Dowd worked forThe Washington StarandTime,writing news, sports and feature articles. She joinedThe New York Timesin 1983 as a metropolitan reporter, and became an op-ed writer in 1995. Dowd became a staff writer forThe New York Times Magazinein 2014.

In 1999, Dowd received aPulitzer Prizefor her series of columns on theClinton–Lewinsky scandal.

Dowd's columns often explore politics,Hollywood,and gender-related topics. Her writing style has been compared to political cartoons in its exaggerated satire of politics and culture. Some have criticized her writings on female public figures, particularly Monica Lewinsky and Hillary Clinton, as sexist.

Early life and career[edit]

Dowd was born the youngest of five children[2]in Washington, DC.[3]Her mother, Margaret "Peggy" (néeMeenehan), was a housewife, and her father, Mike Dowd, worked as a Washington, DC, police inspector.[4][5][2]In 1969, Dowd graduated fromImmaculata High School.[6]In 1973, she received aB.A.in English from theCatholic University of America.[7][3]

Dowd entered journalism in 1974 as a dictationist for theWashington Star,where she later became asports columnist,metropolitan reporter, and feature writer.[7][3]When theStarclosed in 1981, Dowd worked forTime.[7][3]In 1983, Dowd joinedThe New York Times,initially as a metropolitan reporter.[7][3]Dowd began serving as correspondent in theTimesWashington bureau in 1986.[7][3]In 1987, after being tipped off byJeffrey Lord,she broke the story that Delaware SenatorJoe Bidenhad plagiarized several speeches from other politicians. The revelation was the first in a cascading series of damaging stories that ultimately ended Biden's first presidential campaign.[8]

In 1991, Dowd received a Breakthrough Award fromColumbia University.[3]In 1992, she became aPulitzer Prizefinalist for national reporting,[3]and in 1994 she won aMatrix Awardfrom New YorkAssociation for Women in Communications.[3][9]

New York Timescolumnist[edit]

Dowd became a columnist onThe New York Timesop-ed page in 1995,[7][3]replacingAnna Quindlen.[5][10]Dowd was named a Woman of the Year byGlamourmagazine in 1996,[3]and won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize, for distinguished commentary.[7]She won The Damon Runyon Award for outstanding contributions to journalism in 2000,[11]and became the first Mary Alice Davis Lectureship speaker (sponsored by the School of Journalism and the Center for American History) at theUniversity of Texas at Austinin 2005.[12]In 2010, Dowd was ranked No. 43 onThe Daily Telegraph's list of the 100 most influentialliberalsin America; in 2007, she was ranked No. 37 on the same list.[13]

Dowd's columns have been described as letters to her mother, whom friends credit as "the source, the fountain of Maureen's humor and her Irish sensibilities and her intellectual take."[4]Dowd herself has said, "She is in my head in the sense that I want to inform and amuse the reader."[14]Dowd's columns are distinguished by an acerbic, oftenpolemicalwriting style.[15]Her columns display a critical and irreverent attitude towards powerful, mostly political, figures such as former PresidentsGeorge W. BushandBill Clinton.She also tends to refer to her subjects by nicknames. For example, she has often referred to Bush as "W" and former Vice PresidentDick Cheneyas "Big Time";[16]and she has called former PresidentBarack Obama"Spock"[17]and "Barry."

Her interest in candidates' personalities earned her criticism from some early in her career, such as this: "She focuses too much on the person but not enough on policy."[4]

Because Dowd perceives her columns to be an exploration of politics,Hollywood,and gender-related topics, she often uses popular culture to support and metaphorically enhance her political commentary.[15]For instance, in aTimesvideo debate she said of theNorth Korean governmentthat "you could look at a movie likeMean Girlsand figure out the way these North Koreans are reacting, "drawing out a similarity between their reaction and high school girls with nuclear weapons who just wanted attention.[18]

Dowd's columns have also been described as often beingpolitical cartoonsthat capture a caricatured view of the current political landscape with precision and exaggeration.[4]For example, in the run-up to the2000 presidential electionshe wrote thatDemocraticcandidate "Al Gore is so feminized and diversified and ecologically correct that he's practically lactating,"[19]while referring to theDemocratic Partyas the "mommy party."[4]In aFreshDialoguesinterview years later, she said of Gore:

I was just teasing him a little bit because he was so earnest and he could be a little righteous and self important. That's not always the most effective way to communicate your ideas, even if the ideas themselves are right. I mean, certainly his ideas were right but he himself was—sometimes—a pompous messenger for them.[14]

In January 2014, Dowd recounted that after eating about one-fourth of acannabis-infused chocolate barwhile touring the legalizedrecreational cannabisindustry,[20]she was later told she should have only eaten one-sixteenth[21][22]—but that this had not been in the instructions on the label.[23][24]She went on to describe her negative experiences with legal cannabis in a June 3, 2014New York Timesop-ed,[22][25]following up on this story in another op-ed in September 2014, this time describing a discussion of using consumable cannabis with her "marijuanaMiyagi"Willie Nelson.[26]

On March 4, 2014, Dowd published a column about the dominance of men in the film industry in which she quotedAmy Pascal,co-chairman ofSony Pictures Entertainment.[27]According toBuzzFeed,"leaked emails from Sony" suggested that Dowd had promised to provide the draft column to Pascal's husband,Bernard Weinraub,prior to the column's publication. BuzzFeed said the column "painted Pascal in such a good light that she engaged in a round of mutual adulation with Dowd over email after its publication."[28]Both Dowd and Weinraub have denied that Weinraub ever received the column. On December 12, 2014,Timespublic editorMargaret Sullivanconcluded, "While the tone of the email exchanges is undeniably gushy, I don't think Ms. Dowd did anything unethical here."[29]

In August 2014, it was announced that Dowd would become a staff writer forThe New York Times Magazine.[30]Her first article under the new arrangement was published more than a year later.[31]

Controversial portrayals of Monica Lewinsky, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump[edit]

Dowd has been accused ofsexismbyClark Hoyt,then-public editor ofThe New York Times.[32][33][34][35][36]A 2017 study which examined sexualized shaming ofMonica Lewinskyin mainstream news coverage stated that in Dowd's extensive writings about Lewinsky, she repeatedly "mocked and disparaged her."[37]A 2009 study of sexism towards Hillary Clinton andSarah Palinin the 2008 election observed that Dowd had disparaged Palin as a "Barbie" over her pageantry past.[38]

Other commentators have criticized Dowd for having an obsession with Bill and, especially, Hillary Clinton.[39][40][41][38]During the 2008 Democratic primary, Dowd published an article titled "Can Hillary Clinton Cry Herself Back to the White House?", which a 2016 study said "[serves] to reinforce the stereotype that tears and visible emotions are feminine traits and signs of weakness".[42]She also published a column where she likened former Senator Clinton to the "Terminator",a ruthless cyborg where" unless every circuit is out, she'll regenerate enough to claw her way out of the grave "; in 2013 Jessica Ritchie, a research assistant at theUniversity of Leicester,argued that portrayals such as these sought to portray Clinton and her presidential bid as improper and unnatural.[43][44]According to then-public editor ofThe New York TimesClark Hoyt, Dowd's columns about Clinton were "loaded with language painting her as a 50-foot woman with a suffocating embrace, a conniving film noir dame and a victim dependent on her husband".[32]A 2014 analysis by the advocacy groupMedia Mattersof 21 years of Dowd's columns about Hillary Clinton found that of the 195 columns by Dowd since November 1993 containing significant mentions of Clinton, 72 percent (141 columns) were negative towards Clinton.[45]

During the2016 presidential election,Dowd penned aNew York Timesop-ed, titled "Donald the Dove, Hillary the Hawk".[46]She argued thatDonald Trumpheld dovish foreign policy beliefs, citing his purported opposition to the2003 US invasion of Iraq.However, prior to the publication of the op-ed, it had been reported that Trump did in fact support the invasion, and there were no statements on the record opposing it.[47][48][49][50]Throughout Trump's presidency, critics of his foreign policy referenced the Dowd op-ed, claiming that many of the actions taken by Trump were entirely inconsistent with the narrative put forth by Dowd.[46][51][52]

During the2020 presidential election,Dowd wrote a column aboutGeraldine Ferraro,which originally—and incorrectly—stated that the last time a man and a woman ran on the Democratic ticket was theMondale–Ferraro ticket,which led Clinton to joke that "eitherTim Kaineand [she] had a very vivid shared hallucination four years ago or Maureen had too much pot brownie before writing her column again ". TheNew York Timeslater corrected the column to say that 1984 was the last time a male Democratic presidential candidate chose a woman as his running mate.[53]

Personal life[edit]

Dowd is single but formerly datedAaron Sorkin,the creator and producer ofThe West Wing.She was also involved with actorMichael Douglas[15]and her fellowNew York TimescolumnistJohn Tierney.[4]

Honors[edit]

In 2004, Dowd received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement,presented by Awards Council memberNeil Sheehanat the International Achievement Summit in Chicago.[54][55]

In 2012,NUI Galwayawarded her an honorary doctorate.[56]

In addition to winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1999 for Commentary, she was also a finalist in 1992 for National Reporting.

Bibliography[edit]

External videos
video iconBooknotesinterview with Dowd onBushworld,August 8, 2004,C-SPAN
video iconBook party forBushworld,September 13, 2004,C-SPAN
video iconWashington Journalinterview with Dowd onAre Men Necessary?,November 18, 2005,C-SPAN
video iconPresentation by Dowd onAre Men Necessary?,November 19, 2005,C-SPAN
video iconQ&Ainterview with Dowd onThe Year of Voting Dangerously,October 16, 2016,C-SPAN
video iconPresentation by Dowd onThe Year of Voting Dangerously,November 15, 2016,C-SPAN
video iconInterview with Dowd onThe Year of Voting Dangerously,March 12, 2017,C-SPAN
  • Dowd (2004).Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk.G. P. Putnam's Sons.ISBN978-0-425-20276-0.
  • Dowd (2005).Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide.Putnam.ISBN978-0-7553-1550-5.
  • Dowd, Maureen (2016).The Year of Voting Dangerously: The Derangement of American Politics.Twelve.ISBN978-1455539260.[57]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Dowd, Maureen (May 19, 2018). "Scarlet Letter in the Emerald Isle",The New York Times.Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  2. ^ab"Margaret Dowd, 97; Font of Advice".The Washington Post.July 21, 2005. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  3. ^abcdefghijk"The 1999 Pulitzer Prize Winners: Commentary: Biography".Columbia University.RetrievedMay 19,2009.
  4. ^abcdefLevy, Ariel (October 31, 2005)."The Redhead and the Gray Lady".New York.RetrievedFebruary 18,2010.
  5. ^abMcDermott, Peter (August 8, 2007)."Echo Profile: A necessary woman – Times' Dowd endeavors to keep W, Vice, and Rummy in check".The Irish Echo.Archived fromthe originalon February 27, 2006.RetrievedAugust 8,2007.
  6. ^Schmalzbauer 2003, p. 18; "Singularly acerbic pen sets Dowd apart as Clinton critic; N.Y. Times' pundit keeps caustic watch on Washington".The Washington Times.September 25, 1996.
  7. ^abcdefg"Columnist Biography: Maureen Dowd".The New York Times.April 16, 2002. Archived fromthe originalon February 10, 2013.RetrievedDecember 17,2014.
  8. ^Satija, Neena (June 5, 2019)."Echoes of Biden's 1987 plagiarism scandal continue to reverberate".The Washington Post.Archived fromthe originalon June 18, 2024.
  9. ^"Matrix Hall of Fame".New York Women in Communications.Archived fromthe originalon November 26, 2011.RetrievedAugust 8,2007.
  10. ^"Meet Newsweek – Anna Quindlen, Contributing Editor".Newsweek.January 11, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon May 8, 2007.RetrievedAugust 8,2007– viaMSNBC.
  11. ^"Maureen Dowd – The Damon Runyon Award, 1999–2000".The Denver Press Club. Archived fromthe originalon July 20, 2006.RetrievedAugust 8,2007.
  12. ^"Columnist Maureen Dowd Kicks Off New Lecture Series".University of Texas at Austin.Archived fromthe originalon June 14, 2006.RetrievedAugust 8,2007.
  13. ^Harnden, Toby(January 13, 2010)."The most influential US liberals: 60-41".The Daily Telegraph.London.RetrievedJanuary 14,2010.
  14. ^abvan Diggelen, Alison (April 3, 2009)."Maureen Dowd talks green – from Emerald Isle to Eco-Issues".freshdialogues.com.
  15. ^abcKurtz, Howard(October 5, 2005)."Sex & the Single Stiletto".The Washington Post.pp. C01.RetrievedAugust 8,2007.
  16. ^Dowd, Maureen (October 8, 2000)."Liberties; West Wing Chaperone".The New York Times.RetrievedMay 24,2009.
  17. ^Dowd, Maureen (December 30, 2009)."As the Nation's Pulse Races, Obama Can't Seem to Find His".The New York Times.pp. A27.RetrievedJanuary 3,2010.
  18. ^Brooks, David;Dowd, Maureen;Rich, Frank(speakers) (July 19, 2006).U.S. Politics: What's Next?—2: Bush's Circle of Trust(Flash Video).The New York Times.Event occurs at 5:05.RetrievedMay 19,2009.
  19. ^Stein, Jonathan (November 19, 2007)."Maureen Dowd Rehashes the" Presidential Candidate X is a Wuss "Construct".MoJo (blog).Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress.RetrievedMay 19,2009.
  20. ^Baca, Ricardo (June 5, 2014)."NYT's Maureen Dowd reacts: In quest for fun, risks downplayed".The Cannabist.RetrievedJune 6,2014.
  21. ^Walker, Hunter (June 4, 2014)."Maureen Dowd Got Way Too High And Freaked Out".Business Insider.RetrievedJune 5,2014.
  22. ^abMcDonough, Katie (June 4, 2014)."Maureen Dowd ate a large dose of a marijuana chocolate bar, freaked out, wrote about it".Salon.RetrievedJune 5,2014.
  23. ^Weissman, Jordan (June 4, 2014)."The Economic Lesson of Maureen Dowd's Reefer Madness".Slate.RetrievedJune 5,2014.
  24. ^Rosenberg, Alyssa (June 4, 2014)."What Maureen Dowd gets right about marijuana".The Washington Post.RetrievedJune 5,2014.
  25. ^Dowd, Maureen (June 3, 2014)."Don't Harsh Our Mellow, Dude".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 5,2014.
  26. ^Dowd, Maureen (September 20, 2014)."Two Redheaded Strangers".The New York Times.RetrievedSeptember 21,2014.
  27. ^Dowd, Maureen (March 4, 2014)."Frozen in a Niche?".The New York Times.
  28. ^Zeitlin, Matthew (December 11, 2014)."Leaked Emails Suggest Maureen Dowd Promised To Show Sony Exec's Husband Column Before Publication".BuzzFeed.
  29. ^Sullivan, Margaret (December 12, 2014)."Hacked Emails, 'Air–Kissing' — and Two Firm Denials".The New York Times.
  30. ^Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara (August 11, 2014)."Maureen Dowd Named New York Times Magazine Staff Writer".Observer.
  31. ^Dowd, Maureen (September 20, 2015)."Kate McKinnon Hates Letting Her Hair Down".The New York Times.
  32. ^abHoyt, Clark (June 22, 2008)."Opinion | Pantsuits and the Presidency".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedDecember 17,2017.
  33. ^Ryan, Erin Gloria (December 12, 2017)."Maureen Dowd Praises #MeToo—After Years of Slut-Shaming Monica Lewinsky".The Daily Beast.RetrievedDecember 17,2017.
  34. ^Gertz, Matt (February 6, 2016)."Maureen Dowd -- Who Once Termed Hillary Clinton" The Manliest Candidate "-- Claims" Her Campaign Cries Sexism Too Often "".Media Matters for America.RetrievedDecember 17,2017.
  35. ^Kutner, Jenny (April 20, 2015).""Basking in estrogen": Maureen Dowd offers predictably sexist take on Hillary Clinton's campaign ".Salon.RetrievedDecember 17,2017.
  36. ^Marcotte, Amanda (February 8, 2016)."Dowd, Steinem take the bait: Sexist" catfight "narrative around the Clinton campaign takes ho..."Salon.RetrievedDecember 17,2017.
  37. ^Everbach, Tracy (May 3, 2017). "Monica Lewinsky and Shame".Journal of Communication Inquiry.41(3): 268–287.doi:10.1177/0196859917707920.ISSN0196-8599.S2CID151604797.
  38. ^abCarlin, Diana B.;Winfrey, Kelly L. (August 10, 2009). "Have You Come a Long Way, Baby? Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Sexism in 2008 Campaign Coverage".Communication Studies.60(4): 326–343.doi:10.1080/10510970903109904.ISSN1051-0974.S2CID145107322.Maureen Dowd, one of Clinton's sharpest critics
  39. ^Msopine,"Maureen Dowd - From respected columnist to Mean Girl",Daily Kos,April 23, 2013.
  40. ^Arthur Chu,"Maureen Dowd vs. Hillary Clinton, MRAs and the Honey Badger Brigade: The dazzling glare of sexism and the alluring 'gender-blind' lie",Salon,April 24, 2015.
  41. ^Brennan Suen,"New York Times' Maureen Dowd Writes Yet Another Anti-Clinton Column",Media Matters,July 10, 2016.
  42. ^Jones, Jennifer J. (2016)."Talk" Like a Man ": The Linguistic Styles of Hillary Clinton, 1992–2013".Perspectives on Politics.14(3): 625–642.doi:10.1017/S1537592716001092.ISSN1537-5927.
  43. ^Dowd, Maureen (March 23, 2008)."Opinion | Haunting Obama's Dreams".RetrievedAugust 6,2018.
  44. ^Ritchie, Jessica (2013). "Creating a Monster".Feminist Media Studies.13(1): 102–119.doi:10.1080/14680777.2011.647973.ISSN1468-0777.S2CID142886430.
  45. ^Willis, Oliver; Groch-Begley, Hannah (June 18, 2014)."The Numbers Behind Maureen Dowd's 21-Year Long Campaign Against Hillary Clinton".Media Matters.
  46. ^abAckerman, Spencer (March 11, 2019)."Alleged 'Dove' Donald Trump Will Increase War Funding by 139 Percent".The Daily Beast.RetrievedMay 27,2019.
  47. ^Smith, Ben."The Media Keeps Letting Trump Get Away With His Iraq Lie".BuzzFeed News.RetrievedMay 27,2019.
  48. ^Politi, Daniel (May 3, 2016)."No, Maureen Dowd, Trump Didn't Actually Oppose the Iraq War From the Start".Slate Magazine.RetrievedMay 27,2019.
  49. ^Lopez, German (May 1, 2016)."The NY Times' Maureen Dowd fell for Trump's claim he opposed the Iraq War from the start".Vox.RetrievedMay 27,2019.
  50. ^Davis, Charles (August 3, 2016)."Why Do Liberals Keep Calling Donald Trump a Dove?".The New Republic.ISSN0028-6583.RetrievedMay 27,2019.
  51. ^"Maureen Dowd".Media Matters for America.RetrievedMay 27,2019.
  52. ^Taylor, Adam (August 23, 2017)."It's time to drop the myth of 'Donald the Dove'".The Washington Post.
  53. ^Johnson, Martin (August 8, 2020)."Hillary Clinton roasts NYT's Maureen Dowd over column".The Hill.RetrievedJanuary 25,2021.
  54. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".www.achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  55. ^"2004 Summit Highlights Photo".New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd receives the Golden Plate Award presented by fellow Pulitzer Prize recipient and Awards Council member Neil Sheehan at the 2004 International Achievement Summit in Chicago.
  56. ^"Pulitzer Prize-winner recalls her Fanore links after NUIG doctorate".The Clare Champion.July 5, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon October 20, 2021.RetrievedJuly 1,2024.
  57. ^"Inside The New York Times Book Review: Maureen Dowd on Clinton and Trump".September 16, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 16,2016.

External links[edit]

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