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Walter Shapiro

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Walter Shapiro
Born(1947-02-16)February 16, 1947
New York City, U.S.
DiedJuly 21, 2024(2024-07-21) (aged 77)
New York City, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BA)
OccupationColumnist
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMeryl Gordon

Walter Elliot Shapiro (February 16, 1947 – July 21, 2024) was an American journalist, columnist, writer, and author.[1] He was the Press Secretary for the U.S. Secretary of Labor and a speech writer for President Jimmy Carter.[2] Shapiro was also a staff writer for The New Republic.[3]

Early life and education

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Walter Elliot Shapiro was born in Manhattan, New York City, in 1947, raised in Norwalk, Connecticut,[2] and graduated from Brien McMahon High School in 1965.[2][4] His grandfather was a Jewish immigrant from Prussia.[4]

Shapiro attended the University of Michigan, where he was an editor of The Michigan Daily; he earned his B.A. in history in 1970.[2] Shapiro also started a master's at Michigan in European history; as a graduate student in 1972, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives, finishing second in a six-way Democratic primary election.[2][5]

Career

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Shapiro began his journalism career as Washington reporter for Congressional Quarterly (1969 to 1970).[2] He later wrote for a number of publications, including USA Today (serving as twice-weekly "Hype & Glory" columnist starting in 1995); The Washington Post, Time (senior writer from 1987 to 1993, covering Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign), Newsweek (political writer, 1983 to 1987), Esquire (monthly "Our Man in the White House" column, 1993 to 1996), the Washington Monthly (editor, 1972 to 1976), Salon.com, and Politics Daily.[2][6] Shapiro also wrote for The American Prospect[7] and had been a columnist for Yahoo News[8] and Roll Call.[9] Shapiro won the Society of Professional Journalists' 2010 Sigma Delta Chi Award in the category of Online Column Writing (Independent) for his piece "The Societal Costs of Our Shrill, Hyperactive and Partisan Media Culture," published in Politics Daily.[10]

Shapiro was press secretary to U.S. Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall from 1977 to 1978.[2] He was a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter in 1979.[2][11][12] He covered nine United States presidential elections.[6]

Shapiro completed a fellowship in Japan with the Japan Society and had been a member of the Council on Ideas of the Gihon Foundation since 1992.[2]

Shapiro was a fellow at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice[6] and he was also a lecturer in political science at Yale University.[8]

Shapiro wrote One-Car Caravan: On the Road with the 2004 Democrats Before America Tunes In (PublicAffairs, 2003) and Hustling Hitler: How a Jewish Vaudevillian Fooled the Fuhrer (Blue Rider Press, 2016).[6][2]

Shapiro performed stand-up comedy for many years, and in 1998 The Times of London described him as "one of Manhattan's leading political satirists".[13] His columns have included satire as well.[14]

Personal life and death

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Shapiro was married to magazine writer Meryl Gordon and split his time between New York City and Washington, D.C.[2] He died from complications of cancer at a hospital in Manhattan on July 21, 2024, aged 77.[4][15]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Walter Shapiro". Penguin Random House. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Walter Shapiro biography". USA Today. January 13, 2003.
  3. ^ "Author: Walter Shapiro". The New Republic. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Roberts, Sam (July 23, 2024). "Walter Shapiro, Political Columnist With a Contrarian Streak, Dies at 77". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  5. ^ Shapiro, Walter (August 10, 2022). "A bike, a suit and a dream: How I lost a race for Congress 50 years ago". Roll Call. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Experts: Walter Shapiro, Brennan Center for Justice (retrieved May 15, 2016.
  7. ^ Authors: Walter Shapiro, The American Prospect.
  8. ^ a b Walter Shapiro, Department of Political Science, Yale University.
  9. ^ Walter Shapiro, "Clinton, Karma and the Fate of Democracy", Roll Call, November 3, 2016, p. 4.
  10. ^ 2010 Sigma Delta Chi Award Honorees, Society of Professional Journalists.
  11. ^ President Obama Addresses Oil From Oval Office, NPR (June 15, 2010).
  12. ^ Bjorn F. Stillion Southard & Andrew D. Wolvinb, Jimmy Carter: A Case Study in Listening Leadership, International Journal of Listening Vol 23, Issue 2: pp. 141-152 doi:10.1080/10904010903014467.
  13. ^ "Walter Shapiro biography", USA Today (accessed May 16, 2016).
  14. ^ Foster, Tim. The Suburban Captivity of the Church: Contextualising the Gospel for Post-Christian Australia, p. 88 (Acorn Press, 2014).
  15. ^ Dick, Jason (July 21, 2024). "Appreciation: Walter Shapiro, a pro's pro who learned politics and journalism the hard way". Roll Call. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
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