Robert Schlesinger

Deputy Editor, Opinion

Expertise: Speech Writing | Political and Presidential rhetoric | The Presidency | National politics | Campaigns | Elections | Congress | Washington, D.C.

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Background: Robert Schlesinger, a U.S.News and World Report deputy editor, oversees all opinion editorial content. Spearheading the opinion section of www.usnews.com, Schlesinger solicits op-eds from writers and bloggers nationwide. He is also author of White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters , which the Wall Street Journal describes as “well researched and richly detailed.” Schlesinger came to U.S.News & World Report as a freelancer and blogger for a variety of publications, including Salon.com, Economist.com, the Huffington Post, and the New York Times Magazine. His work has also appeared in the Washington Monthly, the Weekly Standard, People, Campaigns & Elections, Washington DC Style, DC Magazine, the Washington Examiner, the Boston Globe Magazine, George, and the AARP Bulletin. Prior to joining U.S. News, Schlesinger covered national security and public policy issues for the Boston Globe’s Washington bureau. He previously served as chief congressional correspondent at Voter.com, political editor at The Hill newspaper, and researched advisers to presidential candidates at the Center for Public Integrity, co-writing “Under the Influence,” a 1996 report on presidential campaign advisers. He is also co-founder and co-contributor of the blog RobertEmmet, which covers topics from national security to entertainment and culture. Schlesinger teaches graduate-level political journalism at the Boston University Washington Journalism Center. A New York City native, he graduated from Middlebury College in 1994.

Publications: White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters (Simon & Schuster, 2008)

Honors: Paul Miller Reporting Fellowship at the National Press Foundation, 2001-2002 | Theodore C. Sorensen Research Fellowship from the John F. Kennedy Library, 2006

Media appearances: Schlesinger’s television appearances have included Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and numerous appearances on C-SPAN. He has been a guest on The Joan Hamburg Show (WOR-AM, New York, N.Y.), The Leonard Lopate Show (WNYC, New York, N.Y.), The Kojo Nnamdi Show (WAMU-FM, Washington D.C.), Air America’s The Lionel Show, XM radio, and several other radio stations.