Leonard Downie Jr Popular Books

Leonard Downie Jr Biography & Facts

Leonard "Len" Downie Jr. is an American journalist who was executive editor of The Washington Post from 1991 to 2008. He worked in the Post newsroom for 44 years. His roles at the newspaper included executive editor, managing editor, national editor, London correspondent, assistant managing editor for metropolitan news, deputy metropolitan editor, and investigative and local reporter. Downie became executive editor upon the retirement of Ben Bradlee. During Downie's tenure as executive editor, the Washington Post won 25 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper had won during the term of a single executive editor. Downie currently serves as vice president at large at the Washington Post, as Weil Family Professor of Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, and as a member of several advisory boards associated with journalism and public affairs. Downie is the author of six nonfiction books: All About the Story: News, Power, Politics, and the Washington Post (2020); The News Media: What Everyone Needs To Know (with C.W. Anderson and Michael Schudson, 2016); The News About the News (with Robert G. Kaiser, 2003); The New Muckrakers (1976); Mortgage on America (1974) and Justice Denied: The Case for Reform of the Courts (1971) The News About the News won the Goldsmith Award from the Joan Shorenstein Center at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Downie was also a major contributor to Ten Blocks from the White House: Anatomy of the Washington Riots of 1968 and has written many newspaper and magazine articles. He authored two major special reports for the Committee to Protect Journalists, The Trump Administration and the Press (2020) and The Obama Administration and the Press (2013) and co-authored “The Reconstruction of American Journalism” (2009), a major report on the state of the news media, published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. In 2009, Random House published his fiction debut, The Rules of the Game. Early life and education Downie grew up in and around Cleveland, Ohio. He decided to become a journalist at the age of eleven and edited student newspapers at his elementary school and at Wilbur Wright Junior High School and John Marshall High School. He received his BA and MA degrees in journalism and political science from Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, he served as sports editor of the student newspaper The Lantern. During his tenure there he covered Ohio State football as well as the riots that surrounded the school's decision to turn down a bid to the 1962 Rose Bowl. In June 1993, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Ohio State, in conjunction with his address during the university's commencement exercises. Downie has been married three times. He has four children and two stepchildren. His eldest son, David L. Downie, is a scholar of international environmental policy. Career Downie first joined the Washington Post as a summer intern in 1964. He soon became a well-known local investigative reporter in Washington, specializing in crime, courts, housing and urban affairs. His 1966 investigative series on the malfunctioning local court system in Washington, D.C. helped lead to the system's abolition and replacement by the D.C. Superior Court. His reporting during his time on the metro staff won him two Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild Front Page awards, the American Bar Association Gavel Award for legal reporting, and the John Hancock Award for excellent business and financial writing. In 1971, he was awarded a two-year Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship to study urban problems in the United States and Europe. Downie's first three books grew out of his newspaper journalism during those years. Justice Denied (Praeger, 1971) examined poorly functioning city courts across the country. Mortgage on America (Praeger, 1974) investigated the impact and costs of certain types of destructive urban real estate speculation. The New Muckrakers (New Republic Books, 1976) detailed the rise and impact of a new generation of investigative reporters, including his colleagues Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Earlier, Downie had also been a major contributor to the book, Ten Blocks From the White House: Anatomy of the Washington Riots of 1968 (Praeger, 1968), drawing on his first hand reporting of the riots and their aftermath. Downie worked on the Post's metropolitan staff as a reporter and editor for 15 years, and ran the staff as assistant managing editor for metropolitan news from 1974 until 1979. As deputy metropolitan editor, Downie supervised much of the Post's Watergate coverage. According to Bob Woodward's 2005 book The Secret Man, Downie was one of the few people to know the true identity of Watergate scandal informant Deep Throat before it was revealed to be Mark Felt. Downie was named London correspondent in 1979 and worked in this capacity until mid-1982, covering the rise of Margaret Thatcher, the troubles in Northern Ireland, the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and the Falklands War. He returned to Washington in 1982 as national editor. He became managing editor in 1984. He became executive editor in 1991, succeeding Benjamin Bradlee. As national editor, managing editor, and then executive editor, Downie personally oversaw the Washington Post's coverage of every national election from 1984 through 2008. During his 17 years as executive editor, Downie led the newsroom to 25 Pulitzer Prizes, including three gold medals for public service. Downie's mantra—reflected in routine stories as well as such Pulitzer-winning efforts as the 2007 exposé of shoddy conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center—was "accountability journalism." After 44 years in the Post newsroom, Downie retired as executive editor in 2008. That year, the National Press Foundation named Downie the Benjamin Bradlee Editor of the Year. In 2008, Downie was appointed as vice president at large of the Washington Post Co. In 2009, he became the Weil Family Professor of Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Downie is also a founder and board member of Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc (2009–present); a member of the Aspen Institute Commission to Reform the Federal Appointments Process; a former member of the board of directors of the Center for Investigative Reporting (2009–present); chair of the national advisory committee, Kaiser Health News (2009–present); an advisory board member of the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism; and a director of the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service. In 2009, Random House published Downie's fictional debut, The Rules of the Game. Random House described the book as "a novel of corruption and cover-ups at the highest levels of Washi.... Discover the Leonard Downie Jr popular books. 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Best Seller Leonard Downie Jr Books of 2024

  • Pretty Little Lies synopsis, comments

    Pretty Little Lies

    Ivy Thorn

    Four years ago, Nicolo Marchetti took my innocence. But he left me with something else Nicolo almost took everything from me. My virginity, my reputation, and very nearly my future...

  • A Christmas Carol synopsis, comments

    A Christmas Carol

    Charles Dickens

    An Apple Books Classic edition. It’s Christmas Eve in Victorian England. While some families don’t know where their next meal will come from, Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his large hom...

  • A Green Kind of Witch synopsis, comments

    A Green Kind of Witch

    Sierra Cross

    Cinderella crossed with Mean Girls.   That's what Hazel's daily existence feels like. Born to a family of elegant yet shallow Beige Witches, seventeen y...

  • Dark Psychology and Manipulation synopsis, comments

    Dark Psychology and Manipulation

    Margaret Morrison

    THE MENTAL MANIPULATOR WILL NO LONGER KEEP SECRETS FROM YOU! Are you fed up with the wool being pulled over your eyes?Are you prepared to stand up to those who believe they can man...

  • School of Potential synopsis, comments

    School of Potential

    W.J. May

    USA Today Bestselling author, W.J. May brings you a continuation of the international bestselling series, The Chronicles of Kerrigan! Come back and enjoy the famous characters, or ...

  • Always Yours synopsis, comments

    Always Yours

    Claire Raye

    Some things are just meant to be... Ellen Somerville and Will McIntyre met by accident and under unusual circumstances. Getting sprayed by a skunk in a parking lot wouldn’t normall...

  • The Holy Bible - King James Version synopsis, comments

    The Holy Bible - King James Version

    King James

    Holy Bible King James Version Few Sample Paragraphs from The Holy Bible eBook, Genesis (OT) 1 Gen. 1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was with...

  • The Stoic Mind synopsis, comments

    The Stoic Mind

    Addy Osmani & GoLimitlesss

    Discover the timeless wisdom of Stoicism in a modern context with "The Stoic Mind," an enlightening visual guide by Addy Osmani and GoLimitlesss. This rich exploration co...

  • Think and Grow Rich synopsis, comments

    Think and Grow Rich

    Greg Habstritt & Napoleon Hill

    Think and Grow Rich is one of the most popular success book of alltime, having sold more than 60 million copies since it was first published more than 70...

  • Enemies With Benefits synopsis, comments

    Enemies With Benefits

    Roxie Noir

    I don’t love him. I don’t even like him. I just want him. Eli Loveless was my nemesis from the first day of kindergarten until we graduated high school. Everything I did, he had to...

  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz synopsis, comments

    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    L. Frank Baum

    An Apple Books Classic edition. You’ve seen the iconic 1939 movie, but do you know about the talking field mice, the Winkies, and the Witch of the North that appear in the original...

  • Teased by Fire synopsis, comments

    Teased by Fire

    Molly O'Hare

    From USA Today bestselling author Molly O’Hare comes an enemiestolovers, older brother’s best friend, romantic comedy with a curvy, antisocial, supernaturalobsessed, allyearround h...

  • Man In The Water synopsis, comments

    Man In The Water

    Jon Hill

    An attempted murder. A missing spouse. And an international conspiracy that could change the world. Jack Green has always been skeptical of socalled facts. Though he's forced ...

  • Wuthering Heights synopsis, comments

    Wuthering Heights

    Emily Brontë

    An Apple Books Classic edition. If you’ve only ever seen Wuthering Heights on screen, you may have an image of Catherine and Heathcliff as the ultimate starcrossed lovers. But that...

  • Holy Bible synopsis, comments

    Holy Bible

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

    The 2013 edition of the Holy Bible contains all of the study aids contained in the 1979 edition and includes revisions to the study aids, several new photos, updated maps, and adju...

  • Coffee Girl synopsis, comments

    Coffee Girl

    Sophie Sinclair

    Mackenzie "Kiki" Forbes finds herself in a pickle. Either become her snarky sister's nanny, or move halfway across the country to work as assistanttothestylist of a ...

  • Nothing to Hide synopsis, comments

    Nothing to Hide

    Scarlett Finn

    Prize of a lifetime: travel the world with a celebrity billionaire. Come to LA with us, Roxie… It will be so much fun! We have tickets for a latenight talk show! What could possibl...

  • The Four Loves synopsis, comments

    The Four Loves

    C. S. Lewis

    The Four Loves summarizes four kinds of human loveaffection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. Masterful without being magisterial, this book's wise, gentle, candi...

  • Bewitching a Highlander synopsis, comments

    Bewitching a Highlander

    Roma Cordon

    Defying all for the love of a bewitching lass. Breena MacRae, a healer from Skye with a touch of witchery in her blood, embarks on a dangerous search for her missing father. She ar...

  • Meditations synopsis, comments

    Meditations

    Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius

    Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161–180 CE, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy.

  • The Great Gatsby synopsis, comments

    The Great Gatsby

    F. Scott Fitzgerald

    An Apple Books Classics edition. The Roaring Twenties are in full effect in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s riveting classic. Manabouttown Jay Gatsby seems to have it all, including loads of...

  • The Next Girl synopsis, comments

    The Next Girl

    Carla Kovach

    IF YOU ONLY READ ONE BOOK THIS YEAR, MAKE IT THE NEXT GIRL... You thought he’d come to save you. You were wrong. ‘ Absolutely the best thriller I’ve read this year! ’ Goodreads Rev...

  • The Scarlet Letter synopsis, comments

    The Scarlet Letter

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Hester Prynne lives in infamy. After committing adultery and bearing a child with a man whose name she refuses to divulge, the heroine of Nathaniel ...

  • The Target synopsis, comments

    The Target

    Lexy Timms

    When you seek revenge be sure to dig two graves… Revenge was the only thing I had going for me. It kept me awake at night and drove me into desperate situations in dive bars across...

  • How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days synopsis, comments

    How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days

    Lila Monroe

    The only thing more hilarious than the movies is… real life?! Fall in love with the sizzling grumpysunshine romantic comedy perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Ali Hazlewood! ...

  • The Three Little Pigs synopsis, comments

    The Three Little Pigs

    Mark Lesky

    Classic fairy tales, legends and folk stories in short version without violence retold with lovely illustrations in simple language. Perfect for reading aloud to small chi...

  • Get Lucky synopsis, comments

    Get Lucky

    Lila Monroe

    Fall for the hot and hilarious romcom spin on 'The Hangover', perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Ali Hazelwood, and Emily Henry! What happens when you wake up in a hotel s...

  • Peace on Earth synopsis, comments

    Peace on Earth

    Maia Ross

    Crime never takes a holiday. Why should Irma? Irma Abercrombie is an energetic retiree with a shadowy past, a mean right hook, and a profound love of Christmas. Surrounded by seaso...

  • Saltwater Cove synopsis, comments

    Saltwater Cove

    Amelia Addler

    Second chances...and the secrets that sabotage them. At 48 years old, Margie Clifton never expected to be starting her life all over again. But when her brother gifts her a propert...

  • The Count of Monte Cristo synopsis, comments

    The Count of Monte Cristo

    Alexandre Dumas

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Alexandre Dumas’ classic paints a portrait of Edmond Dantès, a dark and calculating man who is willing to wait years to exact his perfect plan for r...

  • Rogue Alpha synopsis, comments

    Rogue Alpha

    Kimber White

    One touch made her crave him. But the pull of fate could be the path to ruin. College student Laura Prince lands a plum internship deep in the Michigan wilderness. When she discove...

  • Never Enough synopsis, comments

    Never Enough

    Lexy Timms

    Be good enough never is... Anthony Accardi is a man on a mission: make his father's watch company a success while bringing in millions of dollars. To do that, he needs an assi...

  • Dracula synopsis, comments

    Dracula

    Bram Stoker

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Few characters have seized readers’ imaginations quite like Count Dracula of Transylvania, the hero of Bram Stoker’s classic. The 1897 novel put vam...

  • Escape, A New Life synopsis, comments

    Escape, A New Life

    David J Antocci

    To save herself, she had to lose everything. Trapped in a tropical paradise with no memory of how she got there, Abby is thrust into a fight for her life. Hunted by a madman, and c...

  • Good Guy synopsis, comments

    Good Guy

    Kate Meader

    He's a Special Forces veteran making his pro hockey debut. She's a dogged sports reporter determined to get a scoop. She's also his best friend's widow . . . Fa...

  • Silenced Girls synopsis, comments

    Silenced Girls

    Roger Stelljes

    “ Wow wow wow!  Grips you in a choke hold and  does not let go … Oozes suspense and  bonechilling twists and turns .  Astonishing … One of those...

  • Teach Me synopsis, comments

    Teach Me

    Cassandra Dean

    From awardwinning author Cassandra Dean comes a tale where lessons of pleasure between a curious, sunshine widow and a dissolute, grumpy earl leads to passion and allconsuming love...

  • The Cupcake Cottage synopsis, comments

    The Cupcake Cottage

    Jean Oram

    NHL player Maverick Blades could fall in love with anyone... But he had to fall for a woman who falls under the Bro Code as untouchablehis best friend’s beautiful ex, DaisyMae Ray....

  • The Art of War synopsis, comments

    The Art of War

    Sun Tzu

    An Apple Books Classic edition. It’s believed that Sun Tzu wrote this Chinese military primer during the 5th century BChundreds of years before the Bible. The book’s 13 chapters ex...

  • Little Women synopsis, comments

    Little Women

    Louisa May Alcott

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...

  • Tempting the King synopsis, comments

    Tempting the King

    Jessa York

    An escaped Mafia Queen, hiding from her past. A Mafia King who wants to claim her… Giselle They think I'm lostbut I know better. I can never be found. The path I've creat...

  • His Own Heaven synopsis, comments

    His Own Heaven

    Jennie Kew

    Winner of the 2021 Passionate Plume Award for BDSM Romance Finalist in the 2021 Stiletto Contest for Contemporary Romance He taught her to trust, she taught him to love. ​ Lucy Bar...

  • A Bookshop to Die For synopsis, comments

    A Bookshop to Die For

    M.P. Black

    Ditching her fiancé at the altar, Alice Hartford bolts to her childhood hometown to reconnect with the last, happy remnant of her past: her mom's old bookstore. But the bookst...

  • Silver Santa synopsis, comments

    Silver Santa

    Lacey Silks

    Trapped together on Christmas, their unintended onenight stand becomes a lifechanging encounter amidst the snow. Laura Young's professional role as a security guard at the Sil...

  • Noxious synopsis, comments

    Noxious

    Lexy Timms

    Stop setting yourself on fire to keep someone else warm. Brady and Levi have been together since high school, since before he became famous and started thinking only about himself....

  • Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove synopsis, comments

    Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove

    Melody Grace

    Celebrate the holidays in Sweetbriar Cove with this festive romance collection, containing two sizzling smalltown holiday stories perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Sophie Kinsella...

  • Assisting the Bosshole synopsis, comments

    Assisting the Bosshole

    Kristin MacQueen

    No hot water? Check Missed the train? Check Broke my heel? Check Dropped my coffee? Check My first day of my new job can’t possibly go worse, right? Wrong. When I meet Parker Scott...

  • Law of Attraction synopsis, comments

    Law of Attraction

    Jordan Hollis

    How to Finally Overcome the Hurdles of Manifesting Proven, effective and enjoyable ways to help you manifest faster… Right now, think of something that makes you successful. If you...

  • Whiskey Girl synopsis, comments

    Whiskey Girl

    Melissa Belle

    They'll do anything for each other…except commit. Logan Wild isn’t just the hottest broncriding cowboy in Texas. He’s also my best friendwith benefits. And that’s all we’ll ev...

  • Finding Cinderella synopsis, comments

    Finding Cinderella

    Colleen Hoover

    #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends With Us writes a free novella about the search for happily ever after. A chance encounter in the dark leads ei...