Howell Raines

Howell Raines is an American journalist and author who served as the executive editor of The New York Times from 2001 to 2003. His tenure was marked by significant journalistic achievements, including the paper's coverage of the September 11 attacks, but ended abruptly following a plagiarism scandal involving reporter Jayson Blair. Prior to his executive role, Raines had a distinguished career as a political reporter, editorial page editor, and Washington bureau chief for the Times.

Early life and education

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Raines was raised in the American South during the era of Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights Movement. He attended Birmingham–Southern College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English, before pursuing graduate studies at the University of Alabama. His early experiences in the Deep South profoundly influenced his later perspectives on politics and race, themes that would recur in his writing. After completing his education, he served in the United States Army Reserve before embarking on his journalism career.

Journalism career

Raines began his professional journalism career at the Birmingham Post-Herald before moving to the St. Petersburg Times in Florida. He later joined the Atlanta Constitution, where he covered state politics and the Georgia General Assembly. In 1978, he was hired by The New York Times as a national correspondent based in Atlanta, quickly gaining recognition for his political reporting. He served as the White House correspondent during the administration of President Jimmy Carter and later became the newspaper's chief political correspondent. In 1993, he was appointed editorial page editor, a position where he shaped the Times's influential stance on issues ranging from the Clinton administration to international affairs.

Executive editor of The New York Times

Appointed executive editor in 2001, Raines oversaw the Times's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the September 11 attacks and the subsequent War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). He aggressively pursued major investigative stories, including the paper's reporting on the Enron scandal. However, his management style, described by some as brusque and centralized, created internal friction. His tenure unraveled in 2003 after the revelation that reporter Jayson Blair had committed extensive fabrication and plagiarism, a scandal compounded by the earlier resignation of another star reporter, Rick Bragg, over attribution issues. An internal investigation led by the Times's public editor and a subsequent report criticized the newspaper's oversight, leading to Raines's resignation alongside managing editor Gerald Boyd.

Post-Times career and writings

Following his departure from the Times, Raines authored several books, including a memoir, The One That Got Away, about fly fishing, and a historical work, My Soul Is Rested, chronicling the Civil Rights Movement through oral histories. He has written essays and commentary for publications such as The Atlantic and The Washington Post, often reflecting on journalism, politics, and the American South. He also served as a political analyst for CNN and other media outlets, providing commentary on elections and the Presidency of George W. Bush. His later writings frequently examine the transformation of the news media and the legacy of the Blair scandal on journalistic standards.

Personal life

Raines has been married four times, twice each to Susan Woodley and Krystyna Stachowiak. He has two sons, one of whom is journalist Ben Raines. An avid outdoorsman, he is a passionate fly fisherman, a subject central to his memoir. He maintains residences in New York City and Alabama, and his personal interests often intersect with his writing, particularly on themes of nature and Southern identity. His life and career have been the subject of analysis in media studies and were dramatized in the 2005 film Shattered Glass, which focused on the scandal involving Stephen Glass at The New Republic.

Category:American journalists Category:The New York Times people Category:1943 births Category:Living people