Evan Smith

Evan Smith
Evan Smith at the LBJ Presidential Library.
Born	(1966-04-20) April 20, 1966 New York, New York
Occupation	American journalist
Nationality	American

Evan Smith (born April 20, 1966) is an American journalist. He is the CEO and editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune.

Biography

Born in New York, Smith has a bachelor's degree in public policy from Hamilton College and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (which inducted him into its Hall of Achievement in April 2006). He previously held editorial positions at a number of national magazines, most recently as deputy editor at The New Republic. Smith has written for Newsweek, GQ, and other national magazines. From February 2003 to August 2010, he hosted a weekly interview program, Texas Monthly Talks, that aired on every PBS station and some public radio stations across Texas. Since September 2010, he has hosted "Overheard with Evan Smith," a weekly interview program that airs on PBS stations nationally.

He sits on the boards of PBS, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, St. Stephen's Episcopal School, the Austin Community Foundation, and Waller Creek Conservancy. He is also the founding co-chair of the Texas Film Hall of Fame. He served for five years on the board of the American Society of Magazine Editors, most recently as its vice president; for six years on the board of KLRU, Austin's public television station, which he chaired; for nine years on the Austin Film Society board, twice serving as its president; and for eight years on the board of the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin.

Work At Texas Monthly

Smith joined the staff of Texas Monthly as a senior editor in January 1992. In February 1993, he was promoted to deputy editor, and in July 2000, he was made editor. In May 2002, he added the title of executive vice president. He announced his intention to resign on July 17, 2009, and stepped down on August 21, 2009.

During Smith's tenure over as editor, Texas Monthly was nominated for 16 National Magazine Awards, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. In April 2009, Texas Monthly was awarded the National Magazine Award for General Excellence for only the fourth time in its history.

Work at the Texas Tribune

Smith co-founded the Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, non-partisan public media organization, with Austin venture capitalist John Thornton and veteran journalist Ross Ramsey. It launched on November 3, 2009. In its first four years in operation, the Tribune won two general excellence awards from the Online News Association, four Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, a Sigma Delta Chi award for excellence in journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists, and a Knight-Batten award for innovations in journalism.

External links

• New York Times story about Evan Smith's departure from Texas Monthly
• Nieman Foundation for Journalism story about the Tribune's successful events business