Charles Lane (journalist)

Charles Lane
Born 1961 (age 53–54)
United States
Alma mater Harvard University
Occupation Journalist

Charles "Chuck" Lane (born 1961) is an American journalist and editor who is an editorial writer for The Washington Post and a regular guest on Fox News Channel. Lane was the lead editor of The New Republic from 1997 to 1999. After the New Republic, Lane worked for the Post, where, from 2000 to 2009, he covered the Supreme Court of the United States[1][2] and judicial system issues. He has since joined the newspaper's editorial page.

Early life and education

Born in 1961, Lane earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1983. As a Knight Fellow, he earned a Master of Studies in Law from Yale Law School in 1997.

Career

Lane is a former foreign correspondent for Newsweek and served as the magazine's Berlin bureau chief. His coverage of the former Yugoslavia[3] was featured in the book Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know, edited by Roy Gutman and David Rieff.

The New Republic's owner, Marty Peretz, appointed Lane as editor in 1997 after firing Michael Kelly. Kelly had published a series of articles that Peretz felt were too critical of President Bill Clinton.[4] In 1998, a scandal arose at The New Republic when fabricated reporting by Stephen Glass was discovered. Lane fired Glass and received praise from Peretz for his efforts to "put the ship back on its course."[5][6] Peretz replaced Lane with Peter Beinart in 1999. Lane reportedly learned of his firing from the media before he heard about it from Peretz.[7]

Lane has taught journalism at Georgetown University in Washington, DC and at Princeton University.

In 2008 Lane published The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction, about the Colfax massacre of 1873 in Louisiana of blacks by white militia, including the murder of surrendered prisoners. He explored its political repercussions during Reconstruction, including the resulting Supreme Court case from United States prosecution of perpetrators, United States v. Cruikshank. The Court ruled that actions of individuals were not covered by constitutional protections and suggested that individuals should seek relief in state courts. But during and for many decades after Reconstruction, these rarely prosecuted and never convicted white men for offenses against blacks.

Controversies

In 2011, Lane wrote that he hoped that Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was unable to speak as a result of having been shot in the head a few weeks earlier, would speak out against union workers in Wisconsin if she "could speak normally".[8] Lane's statement was criticized by some bloggers.[9][10][11]

Popular culture

The 1998 journalism scandal at The New Republic was portrayed in the 2003 film Shattered Glass. Lane was portrayed by actor Peter Sarsgaard.

Glass published a "biographical novel" entitled The Fabulist (2003) about his career of journalistic fabrication. "Robert Underwood" was a major character in the "novel" and taken as a fictionalized version of Charles Lane. Reviewing the book for the Washington Post, Chris Lehmann wrote that the Underwood character "is meant to induce in-the-know readers to think poorly of Charles Lane."[12]

Notes

  1. ↑ Lane, Charles. "Full Court Press". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
  2. ↑ "Washington Post Is Now Chuck Lane’s Show". wonkette.com. 16 February 2010.
  3. ↑ "Crimes of War Project The Book – Contributors". The Crimes of War Project. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
  4. ↑ Pogrebin, Robin (6 September 1997). "New Republic Editor Dismissed Over Criticism". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  5. ↑ Penenberg, Adam L. (11 May 1998). "Lies, damn lies and fiction". Forbes.
  6. ↑ "The New Republic Was In Trouble Long Before Chris Hughes Bought It". The American Prospect.
  7. ↑ Elder, Sean (1 December 1999). "The new kid at the New Republic". Salon. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  8. ↑ "Tyranny in Wisconsin, Part 4". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  9. ↑ "The Wrong Lane". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  10. ↑ "Helpful WaPo Columnist Tells Us What Giffords Would Think About Wisconsin". Wonkette. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  11. ↑ "Lost Weekend". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  12. ↑ Lehmann, Chris (13 May 2003). "Stephen Glass's Novel, More Than Half Empty". The Washington Post.

External links