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Washington & Lee welcomes author, former Washington Post editor to lecture on journalism

Rebecca Barnabi
Courtesy of Washington & Lee University.

Washington and Lee University welcomes Martin Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post, to campus to discuss his recent book, “Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos and the Washington Post.”

The lecture will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. in Stackhouse Theater in Elrod Commons, followed by a book signing.

Free and open to the public, the lecture is part of the university’s Reynolds Distinguished Journalist series, made possible by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. The event will also be streamed online at go.wlu.edu/livestream.

Baron retired from The Washington Post in 2021 after serving as executive editor since 2013. During his tenure, the newsroom won 10 Pulitzer Prizes.

“Collision of Power” chronicles Baron’s time at the Post after Jeff Bezos bought the paper in 2013 and how the newsroom navigated reporting on Donald Trump’s presidency. The book has been widely praised for its candor about life inside the Post newsroom under Bezos and Trump’s constant attacks on the media. The New York Times called it a “gripping chronicle of politics and journalism during a decade of turmoil.”

“Marty’s distinguished work as a journalist serves as a master class on holding the powerful to account,” Alecia Swasy, Donald W. Reynolds Professor of Business Journalism at W&L, said. “It’s a great privilege to have him return to campus to talk to our students and share his insights about the intersection of power and politics.”

Before joining The Washington Post, Baron was editor of the Boston Globe, where he led the newsroom to six Pulitzer Prizes. The Globe’s investigation of concealing clergy sex abuse inside the Catholic Church earned the Pulitzer Prize for public service and was portrayed in the Academy Award-winning movie “Spotlight.” A native of Tampa, Florida, Baron began his journalism career at the Miami Herald in 1976 and later worked at the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca J. Barnabi is the national editor of Augusta Free Press. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she began her journalism career at The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. In 2013, she was awarded first place for feature writing in the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Awards Program, and was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association’s 2019 Media Honor Roll Program for her coverage of Waynesboro Schools. Her background in newspapers includes writing about features, local government, education and the arts.

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