- Born:
- September 21, 1956, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. (age 70)
- Awards And Honors:
- Pulitzer Prize (1988)
Dean Baquet
-
Who is Dean Baquet?
Dean Baquet (born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 21, 1956) is an award-winning journalist. He is the first African American to serve as executive editor of The New York Times from 2014 to 2022.
Baquet's career includes positions at the Chicago Tribune, where he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for exposing corruption in Chicago's city council, and the Los Angeles Times, where he became the first African American to helm a major newspaper. He returned to The New York Times in 2007, eventually becoming managing editor in 2011 and executive editor in 2014. During his tenure, The New York Times won 18 Pulitzer Prizes and increased subscriptions through the acquisition of online companies.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is Dean Baquet known for in journalism?
Dean Baquet is an award-winning journalist known for his impactful roles at major newspapers. He made history as the first African American to serve as executive editor of The New York Times from 2014 to 2022.
Earlier in his career, Baquet led a team at the Chicago Tribune that won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing corruption in Chicago's city council. Before joining The New York Times, he served as managing editor and then editor of the Los Angeles Times, becoming the first African American to helm a major newspaper. During his time at The New York Times, the paper won 18 Pulitzer Prizes and significantly increased subscriptions through strategic online acquisitions.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What major newspapers has Dean Baquet worked for?
Dean Baquet has worked for several major newspapers in his career. He began at his hometown newspaper, the States-Item, before moving to the Chicago Tribune. Baquet then joined The New York Times in 1990, later becoming the first African American to serve as its executive editor from 2014 to 2022. In 2000, he became the managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, and in 2005, he became the first African American to helm a major newspaper when he took the newsroomâs top job there.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What important roles has Dean Baquet held at the New York Times?
Dean Baquet held several important positions at The New York Times. He was hired in 1990 as an investigative reporter and subsequently became special projects editor for the business desk in 1994 and national editor in 1995.
Baquet returned to The New York Times as an assistant managing editor and Washington bureau chief in 2007, and in 2011, he was promoted to managing editor. In 2014, Baquet was named executive editor, becoming the first African American to hold the position, and he remained in the role until 2022. During his tenure, The New York Times won 18 Pulitzer Prizes and greatly increased its subscriptions.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Dean Baquet help guide the New York Times through major news events?
During his tenure as executive editor of The New York Times from 2014 to 2022, Dean Baquet, the first African American to hold the position, guided the newspaper through major news events and periods of growth.
Under Baquet's leadership, The New York Times won 18 Pulitzer Prizes and significantly increased its subscriptions, partly through acquiring online companies like The Wirecutter and The Athletic. In 2018, the newspaper won the Public Service award for reporting on sexual predation that sparked the #me-too movement, and in 2020, Nikole Hannah-Jones won a Pulitzer for the 1619 Project. Baquet stepped down as executive editor in June 2022 and subsequently headed the newspaperâs fellowship program that focused on local investigative reporting.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How has Dean Baquet influenced journalism in the United States?
Dean Baquet is an award-winning journalist who became the first African American to serve as executive editor of The New York Times (2014â22). In 1990, he was hired by The New York Times to expose questionable dealings between New York politicians and private businesses through hard-hitting investigative articles.
During his tenure as executive editor, The New York Times won 18 Pulitzer Prizes, and the newspaper greatly increased its subscriptions, partly through the acquisition of various online companies. In June 2022, Baquet stepped down as executive editor and subsequently headed the newspaperâs fellowship program that focused on local investigative reporting.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Dean Baquet (born September 21, 1956, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.) is an award-winning journalist who became the first African American to serve (2014â22) as executive editor of The New York Times.
Baquet was raised in the historic Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. A member of one of the cityâs famed restaurant families, he routinely mopped the floor of his familyâs Creole diner in the mornings before attending classes at St. Augustine High School. Baquet majored in English literature (1974â78) at Columbia University, New York City, but he never graduated. Instead, during a summer break from his college studies, he took an internship with his hometownâs afternoon newspaper, the States-Item; the job eventually became a full-time position. After Baquet worked in New Orleans for nearly a decade, he moved (1984) to the Chicago Tribune as its deputy metropolitan editor and chief investigative reporter. Four years later he won a Pulitzer Prize for leading a team of three other reporters whose exposĂ© unearthed corruption in the Chicago city council.
In 1990 Baquet was hired by Joseph Lelyveld, the managing editor of The New York Times, who sought to expose questionable dealings between New York politicians and private businesses through hard-hitting investigative articles. In the five years that followed, Baquet researched and reported on various instances of corruption, most notably price-fixing in the dairy industry and money laundering at the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. He also took on progressively more powerful positions at the paper, including special projects editor for the business desk in 1994 and national editor in 1995.
In 2000 Baquet accepted an offer from John Carroll, the editor of the Los Angeles Times, to become managing editor. In the five years that Baquet served as Carrollâs number two, the newspaper won 13 Pulitzer Prizes. When Carroll quit in 2005, Baquet assumed the newsroomâs top job, becoming the first African American to helm a major newspaper. He was fired 18 months later, however, after he openly attacked the companyâs management concerning budget and staffing cuts.
Baquet returned to The New York Times as an assistant managing editor and Washington bureau chief in 2007 and was promoted to managing editor in 2011. On May 14, 2014, he was named executive editor, replacing Jill Abramson, the paperâs first female executive editor, who left abruptly after less than three years in the top post. In June 2014, shortly after taking up the position, Baquet had a malignant tumor removed from his kidney. In about a week, however, he returned to work.
During his tenure The New York Times won 18 Pulitzer Prizes, and the newspaper greatly increased its subscriptions. This was achieved, in part, through the acquisition of various online companies, including The Wirecutter, a review site, and The Athletic, a sports-news venture. In June 2022 Baquet stepped down as executive editor, and he subsequently headed the newspaperâs fellowship program that focused on local investigative reporting.