WASHINGTON POST LEGEND MARTY BARON ON A COLLISION OF POWER
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WASHINGTON POST LEGEND MARTY BARON ON A COLLISION OF POWER
“ While there ' s no free press without a democracy , there ' s certainly no democracy without a free press .”
This statement may ring familiar . It comes from an editor of integrity in a trade under threat time and again . News staffs under his leadership have won 18 Pulitzer Prizes , including 11 at The Washington Post , six at The Boston Globe , and one at the Miami Herald , where Marty Baron was executive editor for eight years . Baron was editor at The Boston Globe during its landmark investigation into the Catholic church ' s concealment of the fact that priests were sexually abusing children , portrayed in the Oscar ® -winning film Spotlight .
Baron had it out with CNN ’ s Jake Tapper on the issue of whether or not a tweet was inappropriate by a reporter following the death of Kobe Bryant , a topic that Baron writes about in the recently released book Collision of Power : Trump , Bezos , and The Washington Post . Baron gives his account of the challenges and triumphs , the disappointments and
the victories of being the top editor of some of the most prominent newspapers in America . Baron and I sat and talked about a wide array of topics covered in Collision of Power . He is witty , cool , and funny — after you pass his straight-faced demeanor . Our talk took place over bagel sandwiches in my Great Barrington office . He didn ’ t have to travel far to get there ; Baron is a full-time Berkshire resident and knows the area well . He is often found exploring and hiking , as well as encouraging friends to move to the area . According to Baron , the Berkshires is one of those beautiful places on earth that has the potential of being America ’ s literary hub . He was a featured speaker at last fall ’ s Authors Guild Words , Ideas , and Thinkers ( WIT ) Festival held in Stockbridge . View the talk at authorsguild . org / event / wit-festival .
The Beginnings
Baron always wanted to be an editor for a major metropolitan newspaper . He started as editor of his high school
newspaper at Berkeley Prep School in Tampa , Florida , and then editor of Lehigh University ’ s newspaper by his junior year . For ten weeks every summer for three years , he worked at The Tampa Tribune . He received special permission to take graduate classes as an undergraduate , earning a BA in journalism and MBA in four years . “ I don ' t think the faculty were very happy that I was granted that waiver , but that ' s another matter ,” he says . He landed a job at the Miami Herald after graduating in 1976 and worked in the small town of Stuart , Florida . Six days a week , he and another reporter had to fill a page in the newspaper with articles and photos from that region of Martin County . Digital photography wasn ’ t a thing at the time , so the film had to be on the 10:30 a . m . bus to Miami for processing . “ Sometimes we ' d say , ‘ We ' ll take your photo and then come back and interview you later ,’ ” recalls Baron .
Baron moved to Boca Raton , then Miami to cover the business beat . He took a job at the Los Angeles Times , where he rose in the ranks to business editor by age
32 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE Holiday 2023
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