Victor Navasky facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Victor Navasky
Born	Victor Saul Navasky (1932-07-05)July 5, 1932 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Died	January 23, 2023(2023-01-23) (aged 90) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Education	Swarthmore College (1954) Yale Law School (1959)
Occupation	Journalist, publisher
Spouse(s)	Anne Strongin ​ (m. 1966)​
Children	3
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Victor Saul Navasky (July 5, 1932 – January 23, 2023) was an American journalist and editor. He was known for his work with The Nation magazine. He also taught journalism at Columbia University. Victor Navasky was the editor of The Nation from 1978 to 1995. Later, he became its publisher and editorial director until 2005. His book Naming Names (1980) is an important work about the Hollywood blacklist. He won a National Book Award for Nonfiction for this book in 1982.

In 2017, he received the I.F. Stone Medal. This award honors journalists who show independence. It was given by Harvard's Nieman Foundation.

Early Life and School

Victor Navasky was born in Manhattan, New York. His parents were Esther and Macy Navasky. When he was in eighth grade in 1946, he helped raise money for a play. The play was called A Flag is Born.

He went to Swarthmore College and graduated in 1954. He earned high honors in social sciences. From 1954 to 1956, he served in the United States Army. He was stationed in Alaska at Fort Richardson. After the army, he studied law at Yale Law School. He received his law degree in 1959. While at Yale, he helped start a political humor magazine. It was called Monocle. He also worked as an editor for this magazine.

A Career in Journalism

Before joining The Nation, Navasky worked at The New York Times Magazine. He also wrote a monthly column for the Times Book Review. This column was about the publishing world.

Navasky became the editor of The Nation in 1978. He was known for his clever and careful approach. A writer named Calvin Trillin often wrote about him. He called Navasky "the wily and parsimonious Victor S. Navasky."

In 1994, he took a break from The Nation. He spent time as a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. He also worked at the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University. When he returned to The Nation, he led a group of people. They bought the magazine, and he became its publisher.

Navasky also held other important positions. He was a Guggenheim fellow. He was a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation. He also taught journalism at Princeton University. He taught at many colleges and wrote for various magazines.

Besides his work at The Nation, Navasky was a director at Columbia University. He was also on the board of Independent Diplomat. He often shared his thoughts on the radio show Marketplace.

In 2005, Navasky became the chairman of the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR). Some people had questions about this. They thought it was unusual for a well-known left-leaning writer to lead a magazine that aimed to be unbiased.

In 2005, Navasky received the George Polk Book Award. This award honors excellent journalism. He also served on the boards of several important organizations. These included the Authors Guild and the Committee to Protect Journalists. In 2020, he joined the board of Defending Rights & Dissent.

Family Life and Passing

Victor Navasky married Anne Strongin in 1966. They had three children together. Victor Navasky passed away on January 23, 2023. He was 90 years old. He died from pneumonia in a hospital in Manhattan.

Books by Victor Navasky

• Kennedy Justice (1971)
• Naming Names (1980); a book about the Hollywood blacklist
• The Experts Speak: The Definitive Compendium of Authoritative Misinformation (with Christopher Cerf), 1984, 1998 (ISBN: 0-679-77806-3)
• A Matter of Opinion (2005) (ISBN: 0-374-29997-8)
• Mission Accomplished! (or How We Won the War in Iraq), (with Christopher Cerf), 2008 (ISBN: 1-4165-6993-6)
• The Art of Controversy: Political Cartoons and Their Enduring Power, (2013) (ISBN: 978-0307957207)

Magazines He Worked With

Victor Navasky was involved with several magazines:

• Monocle (He was a founding editor)
• The Nation (He was an editor, then a publisher)
• Columbia Journalism Review (He was the chairman)