Blake Hounshell

Bernard Blakeman Hounshell (September 4, 1978 – January 10, 2023) was an American journalist and editor who worked for The New York Times, Politico, and Foreign Policy.

Blake Hounshell
Hounshell in 2013
Born
Bernard Blakeman Hounshell

(1978-09-04)September 4, 1978
California, U.S.
DiedJanuary 10, 2023(2023-01-10) (aged 44)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
EducationYale University (BA)
Occupation(s)Journalist and editor
EmployerThe New York Times
Children2
AwardsLivingston Award (finalist, 2011)

A graduate of Yale University, he was a 2011 finalist for the Livingston Award. The same year, Time magazine identified him as operating one of the best Twitter accounts.

He died by suicide in 2023 after living with clinical depression.

Early life and education

Hounshell was born as Bernard Blakeman Hounshell in California on September 4, 1978[1] and had two siblings.[2] He grew up in Delaware and Pittsburgh and graduated from Yale University in 2002 after studying political science.[3][1]

After graduation, Hounshell moved to Egypt to study, and learn Arabic.[2]

Career

In Cairo, Hounshell worked at the human-rights focussed[4] Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies think tank founded by Saad Eddin Ibrahim.[2]

Hounshell edited The New York Times' On Politics newsletter[5] after joining the newspaper in October 2021.[6] He previously worked as a managing editor at Politico[7] after starting his journalism career at Foreign Policy in 2006.[8] At Politico, Hounshell was instrumental in launching the national security newsletter, the NatSec Daily.[9]

Foreign Policy won the Media Industry Newsletter's Best of the Web award in 2008, under his leadership.[3]

Hounshell's Twitter account was identified by Time magazine as one of the 140 best of 2011.[3] The same year, his reporting on the Arab Spring made him a Livingston Awards for Young Journalists finalist.[1]

Hounshell co-edited Ricardo Lagos's 2012 memoir Southern Tiger: Chile's Fight for a Democratic and Prosperous Future.[3]

Personal life and death

Hounshell met musician and consultant Sandy Choi while working in Cairo; they moved to Washington D.C. in the 2000s, married,[2] and had two children.[1] He survived a stroke in 2020.[2]

Hounshell died by suicide[10] on January 10, 2023,[5][6] aged 44.[1] Police found his body near the Taft Bridge.[1][11] Hounshell's family released a statement that he had died "after a long and courageous battle with depression."[1]

Following his death, Joe Kahn and Carolyn Ryan of The New York Times wrote that Hounshell "was a dedicated journalist who quickly distinguished himself as our lead politics newsletter writer and a gifted observer of our country's political scene."[11]

References
  1. Roberts, Sam (January 10, 2023). "Blake Hounshell, 'On Politics' Editor at The Times, Dies at 44". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  2. Graff, Garrett M. (January 10, 2023). "In Remembrance of a Beloved and Very Online Journalist". POLITICO. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  3. Hounshell, Blake. "Blake Hounshell". POLITICO. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  4. Rosenwald, Michael S. (January 11, 2023). "Blake Hounshell, political journalist who embodied digital news, dies at 44". The Washington Post.
  5. "New York Times journalist Blake Hounshell dies by suicide". BNO News. January 10, 2023. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  6. Bolies, Corbin (January 10, 2023). "NY Times Star Reporter Blake Hounshell Suddenly Dies". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  7. "Blake Hounshell - The New York Times". www.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  8. "NY Times editor Blake Hounshell, formerly of Politico, dies". thestar.com. January 10, 2023. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  9. "U.S. should grant a Brazilian request to extradite Bolsonaro, Kaine says". POLITICO. January 10, 2023. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  10. Lizza, Ryan; Bade, Rachael; Daniels, Eugene (January 11, 2023). "POLITICO Playbook: Blake Hounshell, 1978-2023". POLITICO. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  11. "NY Times editor Blake Hounshell, formerly of Politico, dies". AP NEWS. January 11, 2023. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
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