'A Stark Loss for American Journalism': Reporter and Author William Greider Dies at Age 83
William “Bill” Greider, a veteran journalist and author who spent decades reporting on politics and economics for national media outlets, died Wednesday at his home in Washington, D.C. at the age of 83.
Born on Aug. 6, 1936 to Harold and Gladys, Greider was raised in Wyoming, Ohio and graduated from Princeton in 1958. He died from complications of congestive heart failure, according to his son Cameron. In addition to Cameron, Greider is survived by his wife Linda, his daughter Katharine, his sister Nancy, and four grandchildren.
A longtime national affairs correspondent for The Nation, Greider also spent 17 years at Rolling Stone and 15 years at The Washington Post. He was a correspondent for six Frontline documentaries on PBS and authored several books. During his tenure at The Nation, Greider was a frequently featured writer on Common Dreams.
Greider’s editors, fellow reporters, and readers have turned to social media since his death on Christmas Day to recognize his contributions to journalism and highlight some of his most celebrated pieces of writing.
Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation, wrote on Twitter that Greider understood “something all too rare in this 24-7 media world. The process of reimagining democracy requires not only real respect for the people, deep reporting, historical insight, but also patience.”
Among Greider’s most famous articles was “The Education of David Stockman,” which was published in The Atlantic in 1981. The critical essay about President Ronald Reagan’s budget director and Reaganomics earned Greider a George Polk Award and later appeared in one of his books.
In a pair of tweets, John Nichols, fellow national affairs correspondent for The Nation, called Greider “a friend and comrade and occasional co-conspirator.”
“He taught me so see politics not as a game but high-stakes struggle for power in which the Democrats, sadly, yielded far too much ground to an increasingly right-wing Republican Party,” wrote Nichols.
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