Karl E. Meyer
Encyclopedia
Karl E. Meyer is a third generation journalist. His grandfather, George Meyer, was the editor of the leading German language
newspaper in Milwaukee, the Germania; his father, Ernest L. Meyer, was a columnist for The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) and then The New York Post.
Karl Meyer was born in Madison, Wisconsin
. His career in journalism began while as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During his junior year, he became the editor of The Daily Cardinal
, the student newspaper, while serving as the campus correspondent of the Milwaukee Journal. During his senior year, he edited the university literary magazine, The Athenaean.
He received his MPA (Master of Public Affairs
) from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
at Princeton University
. After being awarded a Proctor Fellowship, he earned a Ph.D. (Politics), also from Princeton University
.
After graduation in 1956, he became a member of the editorial board
of The Washington Post
, which began his career in foreign affairs. He also wrote a weekly column from America for The New Statesman
. He won an Overseas Press Club award for his coverage of Latin America
, and during the Cuban revolution
he interviewed Fidel Castro
in the Sierra Maestra
.
From 1965-70, he was the Post’s London Bureau Chief where he became a weekly regular on the BBC
and a character in the humor magazine Private Eye
. In 1968, he covered the Soviet invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia
. Returning home in 1970, he headed the Post’s New York Bureau.
He was a television columnist and contributing editor of The Saturday Review (1975-79) and also a contributing editor of Archaeology (1999-2005). He joined The New York Times
Editorial Board in 1979 where he served until 1998 as the senior writer on foreign affairs and a frequent contributor to the Arts and Ideas section.
After his retirement from the Times, Meyer became editor of the World Policy Journal
, published quarterly by the World Policy Institute
, which was a position he held until 2008 when he became editor emeritus.
He has been a visiting professor at Yale University
, Tuft University’s Fletcher School
, Bard College
, and the McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton. He is a fellow of Green College, Oxford
University, the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute of Advanced Studies, Berlin), and of Davenport College
, Yale. He has served as judge for the Peabodys, the Pulizer Prize, and the Arnold Toynbee History Prize. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
and the Century Association.
Meyer is married to Shareen Blair Brysac with whom he has co-authored two books. He has two sons, Ernest and Jonathan Meyer (link: http://www.jonmeyer.com/), and a daughter, Heather Meyer.
http://worldpolicy.org/journal/articles/wpj06-1/coda.html
http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1162/wopj.2006.23.2.105
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
newspaper in Milwaukee, the Germania; his father, Ernest L. Meyer, was a columnist for The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) and then The New York Post.
Karl Meyer was born in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. His career in journalism began while as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During his junior year, he became the editor of The Daily Cardinal
The Daily Cardinal
The Daily Cardinal is a student newspaper that serves the University of Wisconsin–Madison community. The sixth oldest daily student newspaper in the country, it began publishing on Monday, April 4, 1892...
, the student newspaper, while serving as the campus correspondent of the Milwaukee Journal. During his senior year, he edited the university literary magazine, The Athenaean.
He received his MPA (Master of Public Affairs
Master of Public Affairs
The Master of Public Affairs , one of several public affairs degrees, historically has been a master level professional degree offered in public policy schools that provides training in public policy and the operation of government. Courses required for this degree educate students in public and...
) from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school has granted undergraduate A.B. degrees since 1930 and graduate degrees since 1948...
at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. After being awarded a Proctor Fellowship, he earned a Ph.D. (Politics), also from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
After graduation in 1956, he became a member of the editorial board
Editorial board
The editorial board is a group of people, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take.- Board makeup :...
of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, which began his career in foreign affairs. He also wrote a weekly column from America for The New Statesman
The New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
. He won an Overseas Press Club award for his coverage of Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, and during the Cuban revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
he interviewed Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
in the Sierra Maestra
Sierra Maestra
Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province from what is now Guantánamo Province to Niquero in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. Some view it as a series of connecting ranges , which joins with others extending to the west...
.
From 1965-70, he was the Post’s London Bureau Chief where he became a weekly regular on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and a character in the humor magazine Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
. In 1968, he covered the Soviet invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia began with the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's northern and western border regions, known collectively as the Sudetenland, under terms outlined by the Munich Agreement. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's pretext for this effort was the alleged privations suffered by...
. Returning home in 1970, he headed the Post’s New York Bureau.
He was a television columnist and contributing editor of The Saturday Review (1975-79) and also a contributing editor of Archaeology (1999-2005). He joined The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Editorial Board in 1979 where he served until 1998 as the senior writer on foreign affairs and a frequent contributor to the Arts and Ideas section.
After his retirement from the Times, Meyer became editor of the World Policy Journal
World Policy Journal
World Policy Journal is a magazine on international relations published by SAGE Publications for the World Policy Institute. It contains primarily policy essays, but also book reviews, interviews, and historical essays...
, published quarterly by the World Policy Institute
World Policy Institute
The World Policy Institute, a non-partisan policy institute which claims to develop policies that require a progressive ideology. WPI focuses on cooperative policies in order to achieve : an inclusive and sustainable global market economy, engaged global civic participation and effective...
, which was a position he held until 2008 when he became editor emeritus.
He has been a visiting professor at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Tuft University’s Fletcher School
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University is the oldest school in the United States dedicated solely to graduate studies in international affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's foremost schools of international affairs. Every Fall, the school enrolls approximately 265...
, Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
, and the McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton. He is a fellow of Green College, Oxford
Green College, Oxford
Green College was a graduate college of the University of Oxford in England. It was centred around an architecturally appealing 18th century building: the Radcliffe Observatory, which is modelled after the ancient "Tower of the Winds" in Athens....
University, the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute of Advanced Studies, Berlin), and of Davenport College
Davenport College
Davenport College is one of the twelve residential colleges of Yale University. Its buildings were completed in 1933 mainly in the Georgian style but with a gothic façade. The college was named for John Davenport, who founded Yale's home city of New Haven, Connecticut...
, Yale. He has served as judge for the Peabodys, the Pulizer Prize, and the Arnold Toynbee History Prize. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
and the Century Association.
Meyer is married to Shareen Blair Brysac with whom he has co-authored two books. He has two sons, Ernest and Jonathan Meyer (link: http://www.jonmeyer.com/), and a daughter, Heather Meyer.
Recent Articles on the Middle East
- “Forty Years in the Sand,” Harper's MagazineHarper's MagazineHarper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
, June, 2005.
- “Syriana, or The Godfather, Part IV,” World Policy Journal, Winter 2005/06
http://worldpolicy.org/journal/articles/wpj06-1/coda.html
- “The Perfect Debacle”, World Policy Journal, Fall 2004 (Iraq occupation) http://worldpolicy.org/journal/articles/wpj04-3/coda.htm
- “Regime Change” and Other Enigmas,” World Policy Journal, Fall 2002
- “On Showing 'A Decent Respect'”, World Policy Journal, Spring 2002 (opposing the invasion of Iraq, http://worldpolicy.org/journal/wpj02-1.html
Recent Articles on Religion
- “The Black Book of Religion” (Part I), World Policy Journal, Spring 2005, http://worldpolicy.org/journal/articles/wpj05-sp/meyerk2.html
- “The Black Book of Religion” (Part II), World Policy Journal, Fall 2005, http://worldpolicy.org/journal/articles/wpj05-3/
- “The Black Book of Religion” (Part III), World Policy Journal, Summer 2006,
http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1162/wopj.2006.23.2.105
External links
- “Sounding Out Words of Caution During Wartime, Public Lives Profile of Meyer" by Chris Hedges in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, July 12, 2002, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06EFDE1030F931A25754C0A9649C8B63&scp=3&sq=%22Sounding+Out+Words%22&st=nyt
- Radio interview and discussion of the Middle East and Afghanistan with Lewis Lapham of Lapham's Quarterly on Bloomberg Radio's show "The World in Time," http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/radio/show_9_karl_e_meyer.mp3
- OpEd piece "Another Bad Deal for Baghdad" in The New York Times on June 17, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/opinion/17meyer.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print
- OpEd piece "How To Lose Iraq" in NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
July 7-14, 2008 issue, http://www.newsweek.com/id/143674
- Archived articles in The New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=%22Karl+E.+Meyer%22&date_select=full&srchst=nyt