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Gene Roberts

ジーン・ロバーツ

Jīn Rōbertsu

Pen Names: Eugene Leslie Roberts Jr.（Legal full name / birth name）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1932-06-15 （Goldsboro, North Carolina (born in Pikeville area)）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
Journalist, Professor of Journalism, Editor
Active Years
1954-2010
Affiliations
Committee to Protect Journalists (board member; former chairman), Pulitzer Prize Board (former chairman), International Press Institute (former chairman), Board Of Visitors, School of Communications, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (former member), Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland (professor)

Education

Mars Hill College
Degree: 準学士 (Associate degree)
Country: United States
Earned an associate degree
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Department of Journalism
Degree: 学士 (B.A. in Journalism)
Year of Graduation: 1954
Country: United States
B.A. in Journalism
Harvard University (Nieman Fellow)
Country: United States
Attended as a Nieman Fellow

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for History
2007
Work: The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation (co-authored)
Category: History
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: Winner
Golden Plate Award
1980
Organization: American Academy of Achievement
Result: Winner
N.C. Journalism Hall of Fame
1984
Organization: N.C. Media & Journalism Hall of Fame
Result: Inducted
Fourth Estate Award (National Press Club)
1993
Category: Distinguished Contributions to Journalism
Organization: National Press Club
Result: Winner
Order of the Long Leaf Pine
2015
Organization: State of North Carolina
Result: Recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Censors and the Schools

1963 Non-fiction

A report-style examination of censorship in schools and issues of freedom of expression. Co-authored with Jack Nelson.

CensorshipEducationFreedom of expression

Assignment America: A Collection of Outstanding Writing from the New York Times

1974 Anthology / Edited

An anthology collecting outstanding writing from The New York Times, edited by Roberts and David R. Jones.

JournalismContemporary America

Leaving Readers Behind: the age of corporate newspapering

2001 Media criticism / Journalism

An edited collection criticizing corporate trends in newspapering and their impact on readers and reporting.

Media corporatizationJournalistic ethics

Breach of Faith: a crisis of coverage in the age of corporate newspapering

2002 Media criticism / Journalism

An edited work addressing how corporate ownership affects the quality of news coverage.

Crisis in news coverageMedia ownership

The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation

2006 History / Journalism

Co-authored with Hank Klibanoff. A historical study of the Civil Rights Movement and the role of the press, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History.

Civil Rights MovementRole of the mediaModern American history

Bibliography

  • The Censors and the Schools (1963)
  • Assignment America: A Collection of Outstanding Writing from the New York Times (1974, ed.)
  • Leaving Readers Behind: the age of corporate newspapering (2001, ed.)
  • Breach of Faith: a crisis of coverage in the age of corporate newspapering (2002, ed.)
  • The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation (2006, co-authored)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Investigative, analytical prose rooted in reportingClear, fact-focused editorial voice as an editor
Recurring Motifs
Press and the public sphereMedia ethicsCivil rights and social justice

Legacy

Gene Roberts is an editor and journalist who led a 'golden age' at a major regional paper, produced influential work on the relationship between the press and the Civil Rights Movement, and contributed to training the next generation of journalists as an educator.

Archives

  • Library of Congress (holds related records)

Trivia

  • Under his leadership at The Philadelphia Inquirer the paper is credited with winning 17 Pulitzer Prizes in 18 years.
  • In 2007 he won the Pulitzer Prize for History (with Hank Klibanoff) for The Race Beat.