Eric Alterman

Eric Alterman

Eric Alterman is Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and Professor of Journalism at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is also "The Liberal Media" columnist for The Nation, a fellow of the Nation Institute, and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC, where he writes and edits the "Think Again" column, a blogger for The DailyBeast.com, and a columnist on Jewish-related issues for Moment magazine, a regular contributor to The Daily Beast, and a senior fellow (since 1985) at the World Policy Institute in New York.

He lives in New York City.

Stone protege

Alterman was a protege of radical journalist and alleged one time Soviet agent I. F. Stone.

Writing/commentary

Alterman is the author of seven books, including most recently, Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America’s Most Important Ideals (2008, 2009), and the national best-sellers What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News (2003, 2004), and The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)leads America (2004). The others include: When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and its Consequences, (2004, 2005). His Sound & Fury: The Making of the Punditocracy (1992,1993, 2000), won the 1992 George Orwell Award and his It Ain't No Sin to be Glad You're Alive: The Promise of Bruce Springsteen (1999, 2001), won the 1999 Stephen Crane Literary Award, and Who Speaks for America? Why Democracy Matters in Foreign Policy, (1998).

Termed "the most honest and incisive media critic writing today" in the National Catholic Reporter, and author of "the smartest and funniest political journal out there," in The San Francisco Chronicle. In recent years, he has also been a columnist for: Worth, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, and The Sunday Express (London), MSNBC-TV and MSNBC.com, and a history consultant to HBO Films.

Education

A former Adjunct Professor of Journalism at NYU and Columbia, Alterman received his B.A. in History and Government from Cornell, his M.A. in International Relations from Yale, and his Ph.D. in U.S. History from Stanford.

Institute for Policy Studies

In 1993 Eric Alterman was listed as a among "former Visiting Fellows and Visiting Scholars and current TransNational Institute Fellows" on the Institute for Policy Studies 30th Anniversary brochure.

Defending I. F. Stone

In the 1990s, information was rleased indicating that the late journalist I. F. Stone had been a Soviet agent. Eric Alterman, a onetime Stone protégé, called the Stone-KGB stories “smears,” “phony,” and “pathetic,” dismissing the whole contretemps as “an almost entirely bogus controversy over whether Stone ever willingly spied for the Russians or cooperated with the KGB in any way. He did not.”

DSA’s Cuba Letter

Eric Alterman signed an April 2003 Statement on Cuba, initiated and circulated by prominent Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member Leo Casey, calling for the lifting of trade sanctions against Cuba.

“a statement circulating among democratic left/socialist folks, largely by members of Democratic Socialists of America, condemning the recent trials and convictions of non-violent dissenters in Cuba”.

The petition criticized Cuba's poor human rights record, but shared the blame for Cuba's problems with reactionary elements of the U.S. administration...

The democratic left worldwide has opposed the U.S. embargo on Cuba as counterproductive, more harmful to the interests of the Cuban people than helpful to political democratization. The Cuban state's current repression of political dissidents amounts to collaboration with the most reactionary elements of the U.S. administration in their efforts to maintain sanctions and to institute even more punitive measures against Cuba.

Many of the petition's 120 odd signatories were known members of DSA.

Center for American Progress

In 2005 Eric Alterman served as a fellow of Center for American Progress.

The Nation

In 2009 Eric Alterman was listed as a columnist for The Nation.