Robert Scheer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Scheer
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| Born | April 4, 1936 New York City, US
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| Other names | Bob Scheer |
| Education | Christopher Columbus High School |
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| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Employer |
Los Angeles Times (1976–1993; 1993–2005)
Truthdig (2005–2020) |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | Christopher (b. 1968) |
Robert Scheer (born April 4, 1936) is an American journalist known for his left-wing views. This means he often supports ideas like social equality and government involvement in helping people. He has written for many famous publications, including the Los Angeles Times and the online magazine Truthdig.
Scheer has written many books and his newspaper articles were shared across the country. He is also a professor of communications at the University of Southern California. For his work, he has won many awards, including the 2011 Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Robert Scheer was born and grew up in the Bronx, a part of New York City. His mother was a Russian Jew, and his father was a Protestant from Germany. Both of his parents worked in the clothing industry.
After high school, Scheer went to the City College of New York and earned a degree in economics. He continued his studies at Syracuse University and the University of California, Berkeley. He also studied at Yale University and Stanford University, focusing on important topics like how countries can control weapons.
Career in Journalism
The Ramparts Years
In the 1960s, Scheer helped start a magazine called Ramparts. He worked there as a reporter, managing editor, and editor-in-chief. He traveled the world, reporting from places like Cambodia, China, and the Middle East.
One of his most famous achievements was getting the diary of Che Guevara, a well-known revolutionary figure. Scheer interviewed Cuban leader Fidel Castro to get an introduction for the diary. This made the diary's publication a major news event. After Ramparts closed, Scheer wrote for other major magazines.
Running for Office
In the 1960s and 1970s, Scheer became involved in politics. He was strongly against the Vietnam War. In 1966, he ran for a seat in the U.S. Congress as a Democrat. He lost the election but received a lot of votes, showing that many people agreed with his anti-war message.
In 1970, he ran for the U.S. Senate in California with the Peace and Freedom Party. He lost this election as well, but he continued to share his political ideas through his writing.
Los Angeles Times and Radio
In 1976, Scheer began working as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. For 17 years, he wrote about many different subjects. These included the Soviet Union, arms control, and U.S. presidential elections. His work was so respected that the newspaper nominated him for the Pulitzer Prize, a top award in journalism, 11 times.
After leaving his job as a reporter in 1993, he wrote a weekly opinion column for the LA Times for 12 years. He also co-hosted a popular political radio show called Left, Right & Center on National Public Radio.
Famous Interviews and Writings
Scheer has interviewed every U.S. president from Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton. One of his most famous interviews was with Jimmy Carter in 1976, before Carter became president. In the interview for a popular magazine, Carter said something personal that made headlines.
Scheer also interviewed George H. W. Bush in 1984. Bush said he believed a nuclear war could be "winnable." This comment was controversial and may have hurt his chances of becoming the presidential candidate that year.
Political Views
Scheer is known for having strong opinions and not being afraid to share them.
Iraq War
In 2002, before the Iraq War began, Scheer wrote that experts believed Iraq's weapons had already been destroyed. After the war started, he argued that the reasons given by the U.S. government for the invasion were not true. He called for American soldiers to be brought home from Iraq.
World War II
Scheer has also written about World War II. In 2010, he wrote that President Harry Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a terrible act.
Russia and Ukraine
More recently, Scheer has accused large technology companies of censoring news that questions the official story about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Leaving the Los Angeles Times
In 2005, the Los Angeles Times stopped publishing Scheer's column after a nearly 30-year relationship. The newspaper said it was to cut costs. However, Scheer believed he was fired because of his critical articles, especially those about President George W. Bush and the Iraq War.
Scheer said that powerful media figures had attacked him for his views. His firing led to protests, and many readers canceled their subscriptions to the newspaper. Soon after, the San Francisco Chronicle began publishing his column.
Truthdig and ScheerPost
In 2005, Scheer co-founded an online news magazine called Truthdig and became its editor-in-chief. The website focused on topics like the environment, human rights, and problems in American democracy.
Truthdig won many awards, including five Webby Awards for being a top political website. In 2020, Scheer left Truthdig after a disagreement with the publisher. He then started a new website called ScheerPost to continue his work.
Personal Life
Robert Scheer has been married three times. His current wife is Narda Catharine Zacchino, who was also a journalist and an editor at the Los Angeles Times. He has one son, Christopher Scheer, who was born in 1968.
Books and Films
Scheer has written or co-written nine books. One of his books, The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq, became a bestseller. Another book, The Great American Stickup, discusses how he believes big banks and politicians caused the 2008 financial crisis.
He also worked on movies. He was a script consultant for the Oliver Stone film Nixon. He has also appeared as an actor, playing a journalist or a political expert in films like The Siege and Bulworth.
Works
- Maurice Zeitlin, Robert Scheer, Cuba, Tragedy in our Hemisphere, Grove Press, 1963
- With Enough Shovels: Reagan, Bush, and Nuclear War, Random House Incorporated, 1983, ISBN: 9780394722030
- Christopher Scheer, Robert Scheer, Lakshmi Chaudhry, The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us about Iraq, Akashic Books, Seven Stories Press, 2003, ISBN: 9781583226445
