It was announced this week that the Washington Post, where Lehigh University College of Business and Economics alumnus Martin “Marty” Baron ‘76 serves as executive editor, has won two Pulitzer Prizes in recognition for its work over the past year.
The paper earned the Pulitzer public service medal for its work exposing the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs and another Pulitzer for reporter Eli Saslow’s striking series about the struggles of Americans who receive food stamps.
In a discussion with host David Greene at National Public Radio, Baron described his work on the NSA series as “legally and reputationally risky,” but in the end particularly rewarding. “This is an organization that in its history has taken on the most sensitive and difficult subjects, and we were prepared to do that again.” He added, “News organizations need to remain ambitious. They need to do the hardest stories and the most important stories, and they need to invest the resources in order to deliver those stories successfully. And if that requires confronting powerful institutions, we’re willing to take risks in service of the public interest.”
Before the Pulitzers, Baron was named the nation’s top newspaper editor in 2001 by Editor and Publisher magazine and won this same honor from the National Press Foundation three years later. Finally, during his time as editor of the Boston Globe, he and his staff won six Pulitzers in categories ranging from public service to national reporting to criticism.
Baron earned his B.A. and MBA from Lehigh and landed his first newspaper job at the Miami Herald. He moved to the Los Angeles Times, where he became business editor and in 1996, he was appointed associate managing editor of The New York Times. Four years later he was named executive editor of the Miami Herald.
On May 19th, Baron will speak to Lehigh’s Class of 2014 at the school’s commencement. In announcing Baron as the speaker for this year’s commencement, Lehigh President Alice P. Gast said he would be “an inspiration” to the university’s newest graduates.
In other Lehigh-related news, the College of Business and Economics will also be hosting an event to help students prepare for the GMAT/GRE
