Regina Brett
Encyclopedia
Regina Brett is a columnist
for The Plain Dealer, a daily newspaper
serving Cleveland, Ohio
. She was a Pulitzer Prize
finalist for commentary in 2008 and 2009. Her first book, "God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours" was published in April, 2010 by Grand Central Publishing.
Previous to her work at The Plain Dealer, Brett worked as a columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal
in Akron, Ohio
for seven years. Over the course of her career, Brett has written almost 2,000 newspaper columns.
From 2006 to 2010, Brett hosted "The Sound of Ideas," a radio show on WCPN
90.3FM, a NPR affiliate located in Cleveland. She currently hosts "The Regina Brett Show" on 89.7 WKSU, Kent State's public radio station. The weekly program was inspired by Brett's book and invites listeners to join a conversation on a variety of topics.
Brett has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Kent State University
and a master's degree in religious studies from John Carroll University
.
In 1998, Brett was diagnosed with breast cancer
and included her experiences of chemotherapy
and her recuperation in her columns in the Akron Beacon Journal. These columns earned her a National Headliner Award.
In 2006, Brett wrote a column for The Plain Dealer entitled "50 Life Lessons", which has since been the most distributed column she has written to date, appearing on blogs as well as social networking websites like Twitter
and Facebook
. In many of these instances, Brett is misidentified as a 90-year-old woman. The "50 Life Lessons" column has been expanded to fifty chapters for her upcoming book, "God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours".
She received a lifetime achievement Batten Medal in 1999, and was nominated for a Batten Medal for her work in 2008.
In October, 2009, Brett was inducted into the Press Club of Cleveland's Journalism Hall of Fame. Previous to her induction, the Press Club of Cleveland awarded her with four 2nd place awards and eight 1st place awards for column writing, feature writing, and reporting.
Brett has received two National Headliner Awards
. One for her columns about her fight with breast cancer and one for columns detailing her family history. She also won a second place Headliner Award for a series of stories about the "Hicks Babies," a national story about people who were sold as babies in a black market operation at the Hicks Clinic in Georgia to adoptive parents in Ohio the late 1950s.
Northern Ohio Live Magazine gave Brett an Honorable Mention in 1997 and awarded her with an Award of Achievement in 1998.
The Ohio Associated Press nominated Brett for awards nine times between 1987 and 2009 for column writing and feature writing, giving her two 3rd place awards, two 2nd place awards, and five 1st place awards, including a 1st place award for Best Columnist in Ohio in 2009.
The Society for Professional Journalists gave Brett two 2nd place awards in the "Best Human Interest" and "Best Coverage of Children's Issues" categories in 1998, and a 1st place award in the "Best Columnist in Ohio" category in 2003.
Brett received a humor writing award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, for which she was the President from 1998 to 1999.
Brett has received the Liberty Bell Award from the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association
, and she was named as the Ohio Library Council's "Citizen of the Year" in 2009.
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
for The Plain Dealer, a daily newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
serving Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. She was a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
finalist for commentary in 2008 and 2009. Her first book, "God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours" was published in April, 2010 by Grand Central Publishing.
Previous to her work at The Plain Dealer, Brett worked as a columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal
Akron Beacon Journal
The Akron Beacon Journal is a four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States, and published by Black Press Ltd.. It is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper places a strong emphasis on local news and business...
in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
for seven years. Over the course of her career, Brett has written almost 2,000 newspaper columns.
From 2006 to 2010, Brett hosted "The Sound of Ideas," a radio show on WCPN
WCPN
WCPN — branded 90.3 WCPN — is a public radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, and serving the serving Greater Cleveland area....
90.3FM, a NPR affiliate located in Cleveland. She currently hosts "The Regina Brett Show" on 89.7 WKSU, Kent State's public radio station. The weekly program was inspired by Brett's book and invites listeners to join a conversation on a variety of topics.
Brett has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
and a master's degree in religious studies from John Carroll University
John Carroll University
John Carroll University is a private, co-educational Jesuit Catholic university in University Heights, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cleveland. The university was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus as Saint Ignatius College.The university was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus, as...
.
In 1998, Brett was diagnosed with breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
and included her experiences of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
and her recuperation in her columns in the Akron Beacon Journal. These columns earned her a National Headliner Award.
In 2006, Brett wrote a column for The Plain Dealer entitled "50 Life Lessons", which has since been the most distributed column she has written to date, appearing on blogs as well as social networking websites like Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
. In many of these instances, Brett is misidentified as a 90-year-old woman. The "50 Life Lessons" column has been expanded to fifty chapters for her upcoming book, "God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours".
Awards
Brett was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the commentary category in both 2008 and 2009.She received a lifetime achievement Batten Medal in 1999, and was nominated for a Batten Medal for her work in 2008.
In October, 2009, Brett was inducted into the Press Club of Cleveland's Journalism Hall of Fame. Previous to her induction, the Press Club of Cleveland awarded her with four 2nd place awards and eight 1st place awards for column writing, feature writing, and reporting.
Brett has received two National Headliner Awards
National Headliner Awards
The National Headliner Awards are a prize given out by Press Club of Atlantic City since 1935. Both broadcast journalism and print journalism are recognized, in separate categories.-External links:*...
. One for her columns about her fight with breast cancer and one for columns detailing her family history. She also won a second place Headliner Award for a series of stories about the "Hicks Babies," a national story about people who were sold as babies in a black market operation at the Hicks Clinic in Georgia to adoptive parents in Ohio the late 1950s.
Northern Ohio Live Magazine gave Brett an Honorable Mention in 1997 and awarded her with an Award of Achievement in 1998.
The Ohio Associated Press nominated Brett for awards nine times between 1987 and 2009 for column writing and feature writing, giving her two 3rd place awards, two 2nd place awards, and five 1st place awards, including a 1st place award for Best Columnist in Ohio in 2009.
The Society for Professional Journalists gave Brett two 2nd place awards in the "Best Human Interest" and "Best Coverage of Children's Issues" categories in 1998, and a 1st place award in the "Best Columnist in Ohio" category in 2003.
Brett received a humor writing award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, for which she was the President from 1998 to 1999.
Brett has received the Liberty Bell Award from the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, and she was named as the Ohio Library Council's "Citizen of the Year" in 2009.