Howard Fineman

Howard Fineman is Newsweek’s Chief Political Correspondent, Senior Editor and Deputy Washington Bureau Chief. An award-winning writer, Fineman also is an NBC News Analyst, contributing reports to the network and its cable affiliates. He was a regular guest on the “Imus in the Morning” radio show. The author of scores of Newsweek cover stories, Fineman’s work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The New Republic. His “Living Politics” column is posted weekly on Newsweek.com.

Early career

A native of Pittsburgh, Fineman began his journalism career at The Louisville Courier-Journal, covering the environment, the coal industry and state politics before joining the newspaper’s Washington bureau in 1978. He moved to Newsweek in 1980, was named chief political correspondent in 1984, deputy Washington bureau chief in 1993 and senior editor in 1995.

Accomplishments and awards

Fineman has interviewed every major presidential candidate since 1984, focusing in recent years on the rise and times of George W. Bush. A cover story in November 2001 featured the president’s first extensive post-9/11 interview. Another, “Bush and God,” was the top-selling issue of 2003 and was part of a series of Newsweek articles that won the magazine a National Magazine Award for General Excellence that year. His reporting has helped Newsweek win numerous other honors from the Magazine Publishers Association and the American Journalism Review. Fineman’s other awards include a “Page One” from the Headliners Club of New York, a “Silver Gavel” from ABA and a “Deadline Club” from the Society of Professional Journalists.

As a reporter and writer, Fineman ranges widely. Besides campaign-year cover stories, other projects have included: the rise of the religious right, the power of talk radio, race and politics, the Pledge of Allegiance controversy, the impact of digital technology on society and the influence of Hollywood on politics. He has interviewed business leaders such as Bill Gates, Steve Case, Steve Ballmer, Robert Rubin, Ted Turner and entertainment personalities such as Warren Beatty, Jane Fonda, Aaron Sorkin and Jay Leno.

Although Fineman now reports on TV exclusively for NBC, he has appeared on most major public affairs shows, including: Nightline, Face the Nation, Larry King Live, Fox News Sunday, Charlie Rose, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He was a regular panelist on PBS’s Washington Week in Review, 1983-1995, and on CNN’s Capital Gang Sunday, 1995-1998. He worked with Ted Koppel to produce Nightline special reports on Ross Perot and Pat Robertson.

Personal life

Fineman holds an A.B., Phi Beta Kappa, from Colgate (where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi), an M.S. in journalism from Columbia, and a J.D. from the University of Louisville. His legal education included a year at the Georgetown University Law Center. He received Watson and Pulitzer Traveling Fellowships for study in Europe, Russia and the Middle East. He lives in Washington with his wife, Amy L. Nathan, and their two children, Nicholas and Meredith.