Howard Fineman

Fineman was raised in a Jewish family[3] in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh,[4] the son of Jean (née Lederman) and Charles Fineman, both teachers.[5] Fineman attended Colfax Elementary and Taylor Allderdice High School, graduating in 1966.[6] The family belonged to the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation, where Fineman celebrated his bar mitzvah.[7] Fineman holds a B.A. from Colgate University, where he was Phi Beta Kappa and a member of Beta Theta Pi, an M.S. in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a J.D. from the University of Louisville School of Law. His legal education also included a year at the Georgetown University Law Center. He was also a recipient of both the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and the Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship for study in Europe, Russia and the Middle East.[8]

He 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. He has become a regular guest on Tony Kornheiser's podcast (The Tony Kornheiser Show) offering political insight to Tony as well as Pittsburgh sports updates. Tony refers to him as "The Intergalactic Editor of the Huffington Post".[9]

Fineman has focused in recent years on the rise and times of George W. Bush. A Newsweek cover story in November 2001 featured the president's first extensive post-9/11 interview. Fineman's other awards include a "Page One" from the Headliners Club of New York, a "Silver Gavel" from the American Bar Association, and a "Deadline Club" from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Fineman has written on the rise of the "religious right", the power of talk radio, race and politics, and the Pledge of Allegiance controversy. He has interviewed business leaders such as Bill Gates, Steve Case, and Steve Ballmer. He interviewed GOP operative Lee Atwater, in the documentary Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story.

Fineman on the campaign trail at the CPAC Conference (February, 2012)

Fineman reports for NBC, and has appeared on most major public affairs shows. He was a panelist on PBS's Washington Week in Review from 1983 to 1995, and on CNN's Capital Gang from 1995 to 1998.

Fineman holds honorary degrees from Colgate University,[10] the University of Louisville[11] Washington and Jefferson College,[12] and Gettysburg College[13]

Notes

• Appearances on C-SPAN