Leonard Downie Jr

About the Author

Leonard Downie, Jr. was the Executive Editor of the Washington Post . Downie has spent his entire journalistic career at the paper, where he started as a summer intern reporter in 1965. He soon became a prize-winning investigative reporter on the paper’s Metro desk. In 1974, when he was Assistant Managing Editor for Metropolitan News, Downie oversaw the paper’s Watergate coverage. Downie has also served as the Post ‘s London correspondent before becoming National Editor in 1982. In 1984, he was named Managing Editor of the Washington Post , a position he held until 1991, when he was named Executive Editor. Under Downie’s leadership, the paper won 25 Pulitzer Prizes including three Pulitzer gold medals for public service.