PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Berkshire Community College welcomes Marty Baron for a special virtual Q&A on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.

 

Baron will share a behind-the-scenes look at journalism under fire, reflect on the role of the press in a divided nation, and offer an exploration of power in the 21st century, according to a press release.

 

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. To register, visit https://berkshireolli.org/events; a Zoom link will be emailed upon registration.

 

Baron took the helm of The Washington Post in January 2013, just months before Jeff Bezos stunned the media world by purchasing the paper from its storied family owners. Three years later, the Trump administration launched an unprecedented campaign against the press, branding journalists as "the enemy of the people." Navigating the pressures of a billionaire owner and a president targeting the media, Baron guided the Post through one of the most tumultuous chapters in modern journalism and wrote a book about his experience: Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos and the Washington Post.

 

Under his leadership, The Washington Post delivered award-winning investigations, including exposés of Secret Service lapses during President Obama’s administration, Trump’s dubious charitable claims, and the troubling past of Senate candidate Roy Moore. At the same time, Baron managed a rapidly evolving newsroom amid cultural reckonings around gender, race, and the changing role of the press.

 

During his tenure at The Washington Post, Baron’s newsroom earned 11 Pulitzer Prizes, which were among a total of 18 Pulitzers won under his leadership across his career. Prior to the Post, Baron served as editor of The Boston Globe, where his team’s groundbreaking 2002 investigation into clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and was later dramatized in the Academy Award–winning film Spotlight (2015).

Baron began his journalism career at the Miami Herald in 1976, later holding senior editing roles at the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, before returning to the Herald as executive editor in 2000. Under his leadership, the Herald won a Pulitzer for its coverage of the federal raid to recover Elián González, a Cuban boy at the center of an international custody dispute.

 

Born and raised in Tampa, Fla., Baron graduated from Lehigh University in 1976 with both a BA in journalism and an MBA. Over the course of his career, he has received numerous honors and honorary degrees recognizing his extraordinary contributions to American journalism.