Robert Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. (born December 14, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American conservative magazine editor, New York Times bestselling author, and columnist. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of The American Spectator. He writes under the byline R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. but is known socially as Bob Tyrrell. Tyrrell is a 1961 graduate of Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, where he was on the swim team. He then went to Indiana University where he was a manager for the notable coach James "Doc" Counsilman. While at Indiana University, he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi, living in a chapter house where Steve Tesich resided.
In 2000, government investigations of The American Spectator caused Tyrrell to sell the magazine to venture capitalist George Gilder. In 2003, Gilder, having a series of financial and legal setbacks, resold the magazine to Tyrrell and the American Alternative Foundation, the organization under which the magazine was originally incorporated, for a dollar.
Tyrrell was one of those behind the Arkansas Project, financed by Richard Mellon Scaife, to improve the Spectator's investigative journalism. He has explained the Project's purposes and accomplishments in his 2007 book, "The Clinton Crack-Up".[1][2] Other books by Tyrrell include Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House (2003).