Kevin Sullivan (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Kevin Sullivan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning
American journalist and the Washington Post Sunday and Features Editor. Sullivan has worked at The Post since 1991 and was a foreign correspondent for the newspaper for 14 years, working with his wife, Post journalist Mary Jordan, as the newspaper's co-bureau chief in Tokyo from 1995 to 1999, Mexico City
from 2000 to 2005, and London
from 2005 to 2009. Sullivan has also been a frequent commentator on television and radio, including as a regular guest on the BBC Television
's Dateline London
program.
and graduated from the University of New Hampshire
in 1981. After working for The Providence Journal
in Rhode Island
and the Gloucester Daily Times
in Massachusetts
, Sullivan joined The Post in 1991.
Sullivan spent a year studying Japanese and East Asian affairs at Georgetown University
in 1994–95, and he studied Spanish and Latin American affairs as a John S. Knight
fellow at Stanford University
from 1999–2000.
After returning to Washington, D.C.
from London in 2009, Sullivan served as the paper's deputy foreign editor until assuming his current role in August 2010.
Sullivan and Jordan, with Post colleague Keith Richburg
, also won the 1998 George Polk Award
for their reporting on the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Sullivan and Jordan have also won several other journalism awards, including those from the Overseas Press Club of America
and the Society of Professional Journalists
.
Sullivan has reported on six continents from more than 70 countries, including Afghanistan
, Pakistan
, Iraq
, Cuba
, Burma, Democratic Republic of the Congo
, Sierra Leone
and Haiti
. Sullivan and Jordan are also the authors of The Prison Angel: Mother Antonia's Journey from Beverly Hills to a Life of Service in a Mexican Jail (The Penguin Press, 2005). The book was honored with the Christopher Award
in 2006.
Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting
This Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on international affairs, including United Nations correspondence. In its first six years , it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting - International...
American journalist and the Washington Post Sunday and Features Editor. Sullivan has worked at The Post since 1991 and was a foreign correspondent for the newspaper for 14 years, working with his wife, Post journalist Mary Jordan, as the newspaper's co-bureau chief in Tokyo from 1995 to 1999, Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
from 2000 to 2005, and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from 2005 to 2009. Sullivan has also been a frequent commentator on television and radio, including as a regular guest on the BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
's Dateline London
Dateline London
Dateline London is a weekly news discussion programme shown on both BBC News and BBC World News. The programme, presented by Gavin Esler, with Nik Gowing and Lyse Doucet acting as relief presenters, features a roundtable panel of foreign and British journalists who discuss the week's top news...
program.
Early life and career
Sullivan was raised in Brunswick, MaineBrunswick, Maine
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...
and graduated from the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
in 1981. After working for The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal, nicknamed the ProJo, is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper, first published in 1829 and the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the United States, was purchased...
in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and the Gloucester Daily Times
Gloucester Daily Times
The Gloucester Daily Times is a six-day evening daily newspaper published in Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA. The newspaper is published by Eagle-Tribune Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc....
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Sullivan joined The Post in 1991.
Sullivan spent a year studying Japanese and East Asian affairs at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in 1994–95, and he studied Spanish and Latin American affairs as a John S. Knight
John S. Knight Fellowships for Professional Journalists
The John S. Knight Fellowships for Professional Journalists is a paid fellowship for journalists at Stanford University. The program started in 1966, and is named after the American newspaper publisher and editor John S. Knight...
fellow at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
from 1999–2000.
After returning to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
from London in 2009, Sullivan served as the paper's deputy foreign editor until assuming his current role in August 2010.
Career recognition and awards
Sullivan and Jordan won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for a series of stories about the Mexican criminal justice system. They were also finalists for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, along with four Post photographers, for a series of stories on difficulties facing women around the world. The Pulitzer citation credited the series for "its sensitive examination of how females in the developing world are often oppressed from birth to death, a reporting project marked by indelible portraits of women and girls and enhanced by multimedia presentations."Sullivan and Jordan, with Post colleague Keith Richburg
Keith Richburg
Keith Richburg is an American journalist, a longtime foreign correspondent for The Washington Post, and the author of Out of America, which detailed his experiences as a correspondent in Africa, during which he witnessed the Rwandan Genocide, a civil war in Somalia, and a cholera epidemic in...
, also won the 1998 George Polk Award
George Polk Awards
The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States.-History:...
for their reporting on the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Sullivan and Jordan have also won several other journalism awards, including those from the Overseas Press Club of America
Overseas Press Club
The Overseas Press Club of America was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member...
and the Society of Professional Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
.
Sullivan has reported on six continents from more than 70 countries, including Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Burma, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
and Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. Sullivan and Jordan are also the authors of The Prison Angel: Mother Antonia's Journey from Beverly Hills to a Life of Service in a Mexican Jail (The Penguin Press, 2005). The book was honored with the Christopher Award
Christopher Award
The Christopher Award is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, motion pictures and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit"...
in 2006.
Selected works from 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning stories
- In Mexico Hinterland, Life Beyond the Law
- Torture, A Ghost in Mexico's Closet
- Disparate Justice Imprisons Mexico's Poor
- Kidnapping is Growth Industry in Mexico
Selected works from Pulitzer Prize-finalist series on the difficulties facing women
- A Mother's Final Look at Life
- In Sierra Leone, Every Pregnancy Is a 'Chance of Dying'
- Africa's Last and Leas
- In Africa, One Family's Struggle With the Global Food Crisis
Other selected works
- A Body and Spirit Broken by the Taliban
- A Hymn to Yesterday: Paul McCartney Premieres His Choral Work, an Elegy for Linda
- Novel Faiths Find Followers Among Russia's Disillusioned
- S. Korea's Middle Class Hides Its Despair
- Death of 3 Salesmen - Partners in Suicide