Martin Baron Biography

Martin „Marty“ Baron, born on October 24, 1954, is an American journalist known for his leadership in investigative journalism. He studied at Lehigh University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and an MBA with honors in just four years. Baron began his journalism career at The Miami Herald in 1976 before moving on to The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.

In 2000, he returned to The Miami Herald as executive editor, leading coverage of major events such as the Elián González case and the controversial 2000 U.S. presidential election. A year later, he became executive editor of The Boston Globe, where he shifted the paper’s focus towards local investigative journalism. Under his leadership, The Globe exposed the Boston Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal, earning a Pulitzer Prize in 2003.

In 2013, Baron took over as executive editor of The Washington Post, where he oversaw groundbreaking reporting that won multiple Pulitzer Prizes. These included investigations into NSA surveillance, security failures in the Secret Service, fatal police shootings, and Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. He also played a key role in the publication of Trump Revealed, a biography of Donald Trump.

Baron has been widely recognized for his contributions to journalism, receiving numerous awards, including the Hitchens Prize in 2016 and the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media in 2017. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012. Throughout his career, he has been a strong advocate for press freedom and the First Amendment.

After nearly a decade at The Washington Post, Baron retired in February 2021, leaving behind a legacy of fearless investigative reporting and journalistic excellence.