American writer, reporter, and political commentator
1889 CE
to 1974 CE
Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) is an American writer, reporter, and political commentator famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War, coining the term "stereotype" in the modern psychological meaning, and critiquing media and democracy in his newspaper column and several books, most notably his 1922 book Public Opinion.
Lippmann is also a notable author for the Council on Foreign Relations, until he has an affair with editor Hamilton Fish Armstrong's wife, which leads to a falling out between the two men
Lippmann also plays a notable role in Woodrow Wilson's post-Great War board of inquiry, as its research director.
His views regarding the role of journalism in a democracy are contrasted with the contemporaneous writings of John Dewey in what will be retrospectively named the Lippmann-Dewey debate.
Lippmann wins two Pulitzer Prizes, one for his syndicated newspaper column "Today and Tomorrow" and one for his 1961 interview of Nikita Khrushchev.
He has also been highly praised with titles ranging anywhere from "most influential" journalist of the twentieth century, to "Father of Modern Journalism".