Broder, David (1929–)

David Salzer Broder is a well-known journalist for The Washington Post, a news organization he joined in 1966. He was born and raised in Chicago Heights, Illinois, and attended the University of Chicago, where he received both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in political science. After serving 2 years in the U.S. Army, he began his journalism career with the Bloomington Pantograph. From those modest beginnings, Broder became a staple for the coverage of national politics, writing a syndicated column (carried in more than 300 newspapers) read avidly by Americans from all walks of life. Prior to 1966, he covered national politics for The New York Times (1965–1966), The Washington Star (1960–1965), and Congressional Quarterly (1955–1960). He has written several popular books, including Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money, Behind the Front Page, and The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point. In addition to print journalism, Broder has also made his mark on television, becoming a common fixture on NBC's weekly Sunday news show Meet the Press, as well as CNN's Inside Politics. He is also an academician. In 2000, he became a tenured, salaried full professor at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism, teaching a course on politics and the press; interestingly, the class meets at the offices of The Washington Post. Broder has won numerous awards, including the White Burkett Miller Presidential Award in 1989, and in 1990 he won two honors: The National Press Foundation awarded him with the esteemed Fourth Estate Award, and Colby College awarded him with the Elijah Parrish Lovejoy Award. He was also elected to Sigma Delta Chi's Hall of Fame. During the remainder of the 1990s, the honors continued. In 1993, the National Press Foundation awarded him for a second time, honoring him with the Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award. In 1997 Broder won the prestigious William Allen White Foundation's award for distinguished achievement in journalism and received the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Lifetime Achievement Award. Moreover, in 1997, the National Journal counted him as among the 25 most influential Washington journalists; also, the Washingtonian magazine ranked him as one of Washington, D.C.'s top journalists (an honor he has won every year since). Broder's highest honor came in 1973, when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary.

In addition to his general political accomplishments in journalism, Broder can be credited as a leader in suggesting that the news media have an obligation to “police” the political advertising of candidates. His call for the importance of this watchdog function for journalists in the late 1980s led to the increased frequency of “ad watches,” in which journalists scrutinize and evaluate the claims in candidates' political advertising. One primary reason for Broder's popularity centers on his integrity and his sense of fairness regarding politics. In a Washingtonian magazine poll, Broder was highly [Page 68]regarded by his peers and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. In 1990, the same magazine surveyed the op-ed editors othe nation's 200 largest newspapers, once again finding that Broder was considered a class act by his peers, being labeled as “Best Reporter,” “Hardest Working” and “Least Ideological” among 123 columnists.

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