Victor Saul Navasky is a professor at the
Columbia University Graduate School of JournalismThe Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
. He was editor of
The NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
from 1978 until 1995, and its publisher and editorial director 1995 to 2005. In November 2005 he became the publisher emeritus. Navasky's book
Naming Names is considered a definitive take on the
Hollywood blacklistThe Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
.
Life and career
Navasky was born in New York City. In 1946, when he was in the eighth grade, he helped to raise money for the Irgun Zvai Leumi — by passing a contribution basket at performances of
Ben HechtBen Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of...
’s play,
A Flag is Born.
He is a graduate of
Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
(1954), where he was Phi Beta Kappa with high honors in the social sciences, and
Yale Law SchoolYale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
(1959). While at Yale, he co-founded and edited the political satire magazine
MonocleMonocle was an American satirical magazine, published irregularly from the late 1950s until the mid-sixties. For at least the majority of its run, it was edited by Victor Navasky. Calvin Trillin, C. D. B...
. Before coming to
The Nation he was an editor at
The New York Times Magazine and wrote a monthly column about the publishing business ("In Cold Print") for the
Times Book Review. He was named editor of
The Nation in 1978.
In 1994, while on a year's leave of absence from
The Nation, he served first as a fellow at the
Institute of PoliticsHarvard Institute of Politics was created to serve as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy and inspire Harvard students into careers in politics and public service, much as President Kennedy was inspired during his days as a student at Harvard. The IOP also brings together the academic...
at
HarvardHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's Kennedy School of Government and then as a senior fellow at the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. When he returned to
The Nation, he led a group of investors in buying the magazine, and became its publisher.
Navasky has also served as a
GuggenheimGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
Fellow, a visiting scholar at the
Russell Sage FoundationThe Russell Sage Foundation is the principal American foundation devoted exclusively to research in the social sciences. Founded in 1907 and headquartered in New York City, the foundation is a research center, a funding source for studies by scholars at other institutions, and a key member of the...
and Ferris Visiting Professor of Journalism at
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. He has taught at a number of colleges and universities and has contributed articles and reviews to numerous magazines and journals of opinion.
In addition to his
Nation responsibilities, Navasky is also Director of the George T. Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism at
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, a member of the Board of
Independent DiplomatIndependent Diplomat is a non-profit organisation founded in 2004 by former British diplomat Carne Ross to give advice and assistance in diplomatic strategy and technique to governments and political groups - such as providing 'freelance' diplomats to unrecognised governments Independent Diplomat...
, and a regular commentator on the public radio program
MarketplaceMarketplace is a radio program that focuses on business, the economy, and events that influence them. Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, the show is produced and distributed by American Public Media, in association with the University of Southern California...
. In 2005, Navasky was named chairman of the
Columbia Journalism ReviewThe Columbia Journalism Review is an American magazine for professional journalists published bimonthly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961....
(CJR). This appointment engendered some controversy since Navasky's name was left off the masthead, which some on the political right saw as an effort to hide the fact that despite the magazine's purported lack of political bias, a "major left-wing polemicist is calling the shots at CJR without any mention on the masthead."
In 2005, Navasky received the
George Polk Book AwardThe 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:...
given annually by
Long Island UniversityLong Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...
to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting.
Navasky, who has three children, lives in New York City with his wife, Anne. He serves on the boards of the Authors Guild,
International PENPEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
and the
Committee to Protect JournalistsThe Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...
.
Publications
- Kennedy Justice (Atheneum, 1971)
- Naming Names (Viking, 1980); a book concerning the Hollywood blacklist
- The Experts Speak: The Definitive Compendium of Authoritative Misinformation (with Christopher Cerf
Christopher Cerf is a U.S. author, composer-lyricist, voice actor, and record and television producer. He is known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street, for co-creating and co-producing the award-winning PBS literacy education television program Between the Lions, and for his humorous...
), 1984, 1998, (ISBN 0-679-77806-3)
- A Matter of Opinion (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2005) (ISBN 0-374-29997-8)
- Mission Accomplished! (or How We Won the War in Iraq), (with Christopher Cerf
Christopher Cerf is a U.S. author, composer-lyricist, voice actor, and record and television producer. He is known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street, for co-creating and co-producing the award-winning PBS literacy education television program Between the Lions, and for his humorous...
), 2008, (ISBN 1-4165-6993-6)
Magazines with which Navasky has been associated
- Monocle
Monocle was an American satirical magazine, published irregularly from the late 1950s until the mid-sixties. For at least the majority of its run, it was edited by Victor Navasky. Calvin Trillin, C. D. B...
(founding editor)
- The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
(editor, later publisher)
- Columbia Journalism Review
The Columbia Journalism Review is an American magazine for professional journalists published bimonthly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961....
(chairman)
External links