Eric M. Breindel (1955–1998) was a neoconservative writer and former editorial page editor of the New York Post.[1]
He died of liver failure, having suffered from health problems throughout adulthood, as a result of AIDS, according to Michael Wolff in his book The Man Who Owns The News: Inside The Secret World Of Rupert Murdoch.
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Breindel grew up in an upper-middle class Jewish family in New York. His parents were refugees of Hitler's Europe, which likely influenced his views on totalitarian government and fueled his outspoken hatred of communism.
He attended Phillips Exeter, Harvard College, and Harvard Law School. At Harvard, he developed relationships with high-profile professors as well as David and Bobby Kennedy.[2]
Early in his career, Breindel pursued work in government, as his classmates at Harvard had expected him to. At the age of 27, he went to work as Senator Moynihan's aide on the Senate Intelligence Committee. However, shortly into the job, he was arrested for buying heroin from an undercover cop in Washington, D.C., ending any hope of a career in government or politics.
While he was still serving out his year's probation, he wrote for The New Republic and then took a research slot on a PBS show called American Interests. During this time, he started a relationship with Tamar Jacoby, the deputy editor of the New York Times' op-ed section. With her help and several recommendations, including one from Podhoretz, he landed a job heading the editorial page of the New York Daily News.
Breindel began working at the Post's editorial page in 1986, where he immediately began making friends and enemies. He played a pivotal in New York's 1994 mayoral race. He was the key to securing Rudy Giuliani's endorsement by the New York Post, despite Rupert Murdoch's initial intent to support for Conservative Party candidate George Marlin. The endorsement and subsequent editorials proved crucial in a race which came down to a handful of votes.
During the last year of his life, Breindel worked as a News Corporation executive, but continued writing his column at the Post. His life-long friend, John Podhoretz, replaced him at the Post.[2]
In 1999, the Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism was established in his memory, sponsored by Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.[2]