John Avlon
John Phillips Avlon[1] (born 1973) is senior columnist for Newsweek[2] and the Daily Beast[3] as well as a CNN contributor[4]. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics and Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America. President Bill Clinton said that the book Wingnuts, "offers a clear and comprehensive review of the forces on the outer edges of the political spectrum that shape and distort our political debate. Shedding more heat than light they drive frustrated alienated citizens away from the reasoned discourse that can produce real solutions to our problems."[5] He was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun and worked as chief speechwriter for former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Life and career
Avlon is the son of Dianne P. and John J. Avlon of South Carolina.[1] Avlon was the youngest and longest-serving speechwriter in the Giuliani Administration as well as Deputy Communications Director. His work included helping prepare the Mayor's State of the City Addresses for 1999 through 2001. After the attacks of September 11th, he and his team were responsible for writing the eulogies for all New York City Firefighters[6], New York City Police Officers, Port Authority Police Officers and other emergency workers killed in the destruction of the World Trade Center. Additionally, he served on the staff of the Bilingual Education Reform Task Force, the City Hall Park Restoration Committee, and the 2001 Charter Revision Commission, which established the Office of Emergency Management as a permanent city agency.
Avlon has lectured at Yale University, NYU, the Citadel, the Kennedy School of Government, and the State Department’s visiting journalist program. He was Director of Speechwriting and Deputy Policy Director for Giuliani's 2008 presidential campaign.[7] He was also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.[8] He is an advisory board member of the Citizens Union of New York, Bronx Academy of Letters and the Theodore Roosevelt Association.
He has appeared on The Daily Show[9], CNN, MSNBC, Real Time with Bill Maher[10], PBS, and C-Span. He created and hosted the "Wingnut of the Week" segment on CNN.[11] Syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker wrote that "Americans who are fed up with the Ann Coulter/Michael Moore school of debate, and are looking for someone to articulate a common sense middle path, may have found their voice in John Avlon."[12] In a profile, author Stephen Marshall wrote “Avlon talks about politics the way ESPN anchors wrap up sports highlights.”[13] His essay on the attacks of September 11, The Resilient City was selected to conclude the anthology Empire City: New York Through the Centuries and won acclaim from Fred Siegel, the author of The Future Once Happened Here, as "the single best essay written in the wake of 9/11."
Avlon wrote the Newsweek cover-story published on February 28, 2011, "A 21st Century Statesman," after traveling to South Sudan with the actor George Clooney and activist John Prendergast to witness the referendum for independence from the North after two decades of civil war.[14]
In 2010, Avlon became a founding leader of No Labels, a 501(c)(4) citizens movement of Republicans, Democrats and Independents[15] whose mission is to address the politics of problem solving.[16]Avlon also belongs to Reshape New York. A group that is for redistricting reform and ending partisan gerrymandering by, “proposing an independent, impartial and politically balanced citizens redistricting commission to draw fair district boundaries through a process that allows for ample public input.”[17]
In 2011, Avlon was honored by the National Society of Newspaper columnists for his online column with a citation saying "While [Avlon] brings a reporter’s sensibility to his interviews and research, he infuses his accounts with witty judgments that contribute a strong, unapologetic perspective."[18]
In 2011, Avlon co-edited the anthology Deadline Artists: America's Greatest Newspaper Columns with Jesse Angelo and Errol Louis[19], earning a starred review from Publishers Weekly prior to publication.[20]
Avlon is married to Margaret Hoover[1], the great-granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover and author of American Individualism.[21]
References
- ^ a b c "Margaret Hoover, John Avlon". The New York Times. 2009-11-08. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/fashion/weddings/08HOOVER.html.
- ^ "John Avlon". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/authors/john-avlon.html.
- ^ "John Avlon". The Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/author/john-avlon/. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "John Avlon". The Moderate Voice. http://themoderatevoice.com/72543/cnn-hires-independent-analyst-writer-john-avlon-as-commentator/.
- ^ "Bill Clinton". Amazon.com Editorial Review. http://www.amazon.com/Wingnuts-Lunatic-Fringe-Hijacking-America/dp/0984295119.
- ^ The Village Voice Blogs, September 9, 2011
- ^ Giuliani aide likened boss to Bill Clinton - Ben Smith - Politico.com
- ^ What Independent Voters Want - Wall Street Journal
- ^ The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, April 13, 2005
- ^ Real Time with Bill Maher May 15, 2010
- ^ By SteveK on May 08, 2009 06:15 PM (2009-05-08). "CNN's New "Wingnut" Segment Hits Left and Right - mediabistro.com: TVNewser". mediabistro.com. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn/cnns_new_wingnut_segment_hits_left_and_right_116089.asp. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "It's not easy seeking political balance in an either-or world". http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20050420/ai_n15821986.[dead link]
- ^ "DuPlain Enterprises". http://www.duplain.com/john_avlon/.
- ^ "A 21st-Century Statesman". http://www.newsweek.com/2011/02/20/a-21st-century-statesman.html. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
- ^ Oliphant, James (September 26, 2010). "Tired of 'tea party' sniping, moderates organize". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/26/nation/la-na-moderates-20100926.
- ^ "Houston ground zero for a radical political movement reaching both Democrats and Republicans". Culture Map Houston. June 2, 2010. http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/06-02-10-houston-ground-zero-for-a-radical-political-movement-reaching-both-democrats-and-republicans/.
- ^ "Reshape New York Campaign Launch". http://www.lwvny.org/press/Press031411.pdf. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
- ^ "John Avlon Honored". http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2011/06/26/the-daily-beast-s-john-avlon-honored.html. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
- ^ Deadline Artists - About the Editors
- ^ "Publishers Weekly Review". http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59020-429-0. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
- ^ "American Individualism by Margaret Hoover". http://www.randomhouse.com/book/202638/american-individualism-by-margaret-hoover.
