Biden: ‘Howard Fineman one of the great journalists of our time’

Following the death of American journalist and commentator Howard Fineman on June 11, U.S. President Joe Biden released a statement honoring the career of the longtime writer.

“Great journalists hold a mirror up to the nation to reveal the good, the bad, and the truth of who we are as Americans,” Biden stated two days later, on June 13. “For four decades, Howard Fineman was one of the great journalists of our time.”

Fineman, 75, died after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Noting the overlap of his and Fineman’s careers, Biden said: “I respected his reporting and insights whether I agreed or disagreed with him.”

Biden said Fineman “understood the fundamental role of journalism in our democracy is to illuminate, educate and shed light. With his focus on the facts and ability to tell a great story, it’s no surprise why Howard was a trusted and respected voice for millions of Americans, and a true friend and mentor to countless colleagues.”

Born on Nov. 17, 1948, Fineman grew up in a Jewish family in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. He became a bar mitzvah at the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue, where 11 worshippers died in a mass shooting by a white supremacist gunman during Shabbat-morning services on Oct. 27, 2018. Fineman wrote a column for The New York Times about the attack and growing worldwide antisemitism.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University, a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville School of Law.

Fineman spent three decades at Newsweek, starting in 1980, serving as chief political correspondent, senior editor and deputy Washington bureau chief, and penned a popular “Living Politics” column. He was an analyst at MSNBC, and in 2010, joined the Huffington Post as senior politics editor.

Author of The Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates That Define and Inspire Our Country, Fineman lectured at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communications.

He appeared on political news commentary shows that ran the gamut.

Fineman’s MSNBC colleague Chris Matthews, who featured the journalist regularly on his eponymous program, said “he was always reporting, and right up until the minute he would come on my show, he’d be off camera, with his notebook out, reporting.”