Mark Leibovich is an American journalist and author. He is the chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, based in Washington, D.C. He is known for his profiles on political and media figures. He also writes the Times magazine's "Your Fellow Americans" column about politics, media, and public life.
Early life and education
Leibovich was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Leibovich's father is from Argentina. He grew up in a home that he describes as “not a religious household”. He now describes himself as a "reporter of Jewish identity". Leibovich attended Newton South High School from which he graduated in 1983. He then went on to attend the University of Michigan from which he graduated with a degree in English in 1987.
Career
Leibovich got his start as a journalist writing for Boston's alternative weekly, The Phoenix, where he worked for four years. He moved to California and worked as a reporter at The San Jose Mercury News. Leibovich then moved to Washington to work at The Washington Post, where he spent nine years, first covering the national technology sector for the Posts business section, then serving as the lead political writer for the paper's style section. In 2006, Leibovich was hired by The New York Times where he was a national political correspondent in the New York Times Washington Bureau. He then became Chief National Correspondent at The New York Times Magazine.
Broadcasting
Leibovich appears frequently as a guest on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, NPR’s On the Media, and other public affairs programs.
Writing
In addition to his political writing, Leibovich has also written:
The New Imperialists, a collection of profiles of technology pioneers, published January 2002, by Prentice Hall Press.
Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times, a behind-the-scenes look at the owners, and commissioner, of the National Football League, published September 2018, by Penguin Books.
''This Town''
Leibovich is the author of This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral-Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!-in America's Gilded Capital. The book debuted at #1 on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list in July 2013, and remained on the Times best-seller list for 12 weeks. Leibovich discussed "This Town" on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart, ABC’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos, Charlie Rose, PBS’s Moyers and Company and NPR’s “Weekend Edition". He also appeared as a contestant on NPR’s “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me”. In a February 2014 edition of Jeopardy!! This Town was the answer to a clue in a category titled “2013 Bestsellers”. In advance of its July 2013 release, Politico published an article describing This Town as a "chronicle" of the "incestuous ecology of insider Washington." Leibovich, according to the story, is nicknamed "Leibo," and the book's original sub-title was "The Way it Works in Suck Up City." Fareed Zakaria as reviewer for Washington Post praises it as "hottest political book of the summer", containing " juicy anecdotes" and a tell-tale core of "corruption and dysfunction". Richard McGregor of the Financial Times described Leibovich as “like a modern-day Balzac.” In his book review for the New York Times, novelist Christopher Buckley described This Town as a series of “mini-masterpieces of politico-anthropological sociology." The Economist said This Town “may be the most pitiless examination of America’s permanent political class that has ever been conducted.” This Town was released in paperback in April 2014 in conjunction with the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, which Leibovich has described as “an abomination.” The book attracted controversy when an aide to Representative Darrell Issa was fired for sharing reporters’ e-mails with Leibovich without their knowledge.
''Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times''
Leibovich is the author of Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times. The book looks at a 4 year period in the NFL where Mark follows the most powerful people in the NFL, including commissioner Roger Goddell, quarterback Tom Brady, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The book also looks at the controversies surrounding the NFL such as the long-term health hazards, football's impact on concussion and brain health, and how politics have crossed into the sport.
Awards and recognition
Leibovich has won a number of journalism awards, including a 2011 National Magazine Award for his profile of Politico's Michael Allen and the changing media culture of Washington. The New Republic described Leibovich as “brutally incisive yet not without pathos” in naming him one of Washington’s 25 Most Powerful, Least Famous People. Washingtonian Magazine has called him the "reigning master of the political profile” and The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg nominated Leibovich as Washington’s “most important journalist” for his “ability to make his profile subjects look like rock stars, on the one hand, and to make others look like complete idiots, on the other.”
Personal life
Leibovich lives in Washington D.C. with his wife and three daughters.
Publications
Leibovich, Mark. The New Imperialists. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Press.
Leibovich, Mark This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral-Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!-in America's Gilded Capital. New York: Blue Rider Press.
Leibovich, Mark Citizens of the Green Room: Profiles in Courage and Self-Delusion. New York: Blue Rider Press.
Leibovich, Mark Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times. Penguin Press.
