Prior to her time at Duke University, she wrote extensively on journalism ethics and press freedom as a columnist for The Washington Post. Her work there, and as the Public Editor of the New York Times from 2012 to 2016, focused on the intersection of politics, democracy and media. She also is the former executive editor of her hometown daily newspaper, The Buffalo News, where she began as a summer intern.
“Margaret has spent her career protecting our country, shining light on our democracy and those who threaten it,” said Craig Newmark, media entrepreneur and member of the Columbia Journalism Review Board of Overseers. “That patriotism and her lifelong commitment to trustworthy journalism make her the ideal person to lead the Center and its critical work.”
Sullivan was recognized in June by journalism educators around the nation as the winner of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s First Amendment Award, and, in 2020, she won Penn State University’s Bart Richards award for outstanding media criticism. A former member of the Pulitzer Prize Board, she was elected this year to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In addition to her work in journalism, Sullivan has published two books. In 2020, she introduced “Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy” (Columbia Global Reports) and in 2022 “Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-stained Life” (St. Martin’s Press). Both were acclaimed.
Columbia Journalism School established the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security and its faculty chair with a $10 million gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies, created by Craig Newmark. The goal of the center is to advance journalism ethics education and industry practices in the digital age.