David Folkenflik
David Folkenflik was described by Geraldo Rivera of Fox News as "a really weak-kneed, backstabbing, sweaty-palmed reporter." Others have been kinder. The Columbia Journalism Review, for example, once gave him a "laurel" for reporting that immediately led the U.S. military to institute safety measures for journalists in Baghdad.
Based in New York City, Folkenflik serves as NPR's media correspondent.
His stories and analyses are broadcast on the network's newsmagazines, such as All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Here & Now, and are featured on NPR's website and mobile platforms. Folkenflik's reports cast light on the stories of our age, the figures who shape journalism, and the tectonic shifts affecting the news industry. Folkenflik has reported intently on the relationship between the press, politicians, and the general public, as well as the fight over the flow of information in the age of Trump. Folkenflik brought listeners the profile of a Las Vegas columnist who went bankrupt fending off a libel lawsuit from his newspaper's new owner; conducted the first interview with New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet after his appointment; and repeatedly broke news involving the troubled Tronc company, which owns some of the most important regional newspapers in the country. In early 2018, Folkenflik's exposé about the past workplace behavior of the CEO of the Los Angeles Times forced the executive's immediate ouster from that job and helped inspire the sale of the newspaper.
Folkenflik is the author of Murdoch's World: The Last of the Old Media Empires. The Los Angeles Times called Murdoch's World "meaty reading... laced with delicious anecdotes" and the Huffington Post described it as "the gift that keeps on giving." Folkenflik is also editor of Page One: Inside the New York Times and the Future of Journalism. His work has appeared in such publications as the Washington Post, Politico Magazine, Newsweek International, the National Post of Canada, and the Australian Financial Review. Business Insider has called Folkenflik one of the 50 most influential people in American media.
Folkenflik joined NPR in 2004 after more than a decade at the Baltimore Sun, where he covered higher education, national politics, and the media. He started his professional career at the Durham Herald-Sun in North Carolina. Folkenflik served as editor-in-chief at the Cornell Daily Sun and graduated from Cornell with a bachelor's degree in history.
A five-time winner of the Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism from the National Press Club, Folkenflik has received numerous other recognitions, including the inaugural 2002 Mongerson Award for Investigative Reporting on the News and top honors from the National Headliners. In 2018, the Society of Professional Journalists recognized Folkenflik with its 2018 Ethics in Journalism Award. In 2017, Penn State University named Folkenflik as the nation's leading media critic with the Bart Richards Award. He also served as the inaugural Irik Sevin Fellow at Cornell. Folkenflik frequently lectures at college campuses and civic organizations across the country and often appears as a media analyst for television and radio programs in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, and Ireland.
-
Ownership of The Baltimore Sun is shifting from a global hedge fund known for cost-cutting to a local TV owner known for supporting conservative causes.
-
The U.S. economy is booming according to the data, but not according to public opinion. What part does the media play in the disparity?
-
Will Lewis, the next publisher and CEO of the Washington Post and formerly with the Wall Street Journal, is accused in court of helping to lead a cover-up of scandals at Rupert Murdoch's tabloids.
-
Lawyers for Prince Harry and Hugh Grant have alleged in court that The Washington Post's next CEO helped the Murdochs clean up after illegal phone-hacking incidents at their British tabloids. -
Workers are on a 24-hour strike to pressure owner Jeff Bezos and company leaders to negotiate a new labor contract. The Post says it needs to cut jobs and may resort to layoffs. -
A new report exposes stories by writers who don't seem to exist, with bio photos that are stock images, at the revered sports magazine.
-
What happens when the hero you plan to write about becomes a villain in much of the public's eye? We asked bestselling authors Michael Lewis and Walter Isaacson about Sam Bankman-Fried and Elon Musk. -
The Post had been "overly optimistic" about its growth in readership, subscriptions and ads for the past two years, interim CEO Patty Stonesifer wrote in an email to staff.
-
The Washington Post plans to cut 240 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, through voluntary buyouts. Leaders said they had been "overly optimistic" about growth. -
As Florida's established newspapers wither, a leading regional publisher says old rules no longer apply. Politicians and corporate interests say they have to pay him to ensure positive coverage.
