R. Bruce Dold
R. Bruce Dold | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 9, 1955 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | December 3, 2025 (aged 70) Winnetka, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University (BS, MS) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1978–2020 |
| Spouse |
Eileen Claire Norris
(m. 1982) |
| Children | 2 |
Robert Bruce Dold (March 9, 1955 – December 3, 2025) was an American Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Chicago Tribune.[1]
Early life and education
Robert Bruce Dold was born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 9, 1955, to Robert Bruce Dold and Margaret (née Noll).[2] He grew up in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. From 1973 to 1978 he attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he received a B.S. and M.S. in Journalism.[3]
Professional career
Dold was hired as a suburban reporter by the Chicago Tribune in 1978.[4] He also contributed to Downbeat Magazine as a jazz critic. The Tribune hired him as a regular reporter in 1983, and he became a political writer before joining the editorial board in 1990. In 1995, he became deputy editorial page editor and columnist at the Tribune.[2] In 1993, while a member of the editorial board, he wrote a 10-part series that won the Pulitzer for editorial writing. The citation read: "For his series of editorials deploring the murder of a 3-year-old boy by his abusive mother and decrying the Illinois child welfare system".[5]
In 2000, Dold was named editorial page editor.[3] The Tribune subsequently earned a dozen national awards for editorials. It received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing in 2009,[6] 2010[7] and 2011.[8][9] During his tenure as editorial page editor, the paper endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama for president in 2008, the first time the paper had ever endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate, and also endorsed his re-election in 2012.[4]
In February 2016, Dold was named editor of the Chicago Tribune, following former Tribune editor-in-chief Gerould Kern.[10] He was subsequently named the paper's publisher.[4] In 2020, Alden Global Capital acquired Tribune Publishing and replaced much of the paper's leadership, including Dold.[4]
Personal life and death
Dold, who was Roman Catholic, married Eileen Claire Norris in 1982, whom he had met when they were both reporters covering the Chicago suburbs.[3] They had two daughters and lived in La Grange Park, Illinois.[11][2][3]
Dold died at the home of one of his daughters in Winnetka, Illinois, on December 3, 2025, at the age of 70, from esophageal cancer, which he had had for four years.[4][11]
References
- ^ Channick, Robert (March 2, 2016). "Dold named Chicago Tribune publisher, Ferro donates Sun-Times stake to charitable trust". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ^ a b c Brennan, Elizabeth A. (1999). Who's Who of Pulitzer Prize Winners. Oryx Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-57356-111-2. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Bruce Dold". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Gabriel, Trip (December 11, 2025). "R. Bruce Dold, Chicago Tribune Publisher and Pulitzer Winner, Dies at 70". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ "1994 Pulitzer Prizes". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ "Finalist: John McCormick, Marie Dillon and Bruce Dold of Chicago Tribune". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ "2010 Pulitzer Prizes for Journalism". The New York Times. April 12, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ "Winners, Finalists For The 2011 Pulitzer Prizes". NPR. April 18, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ "Bruce Dold". Chicago Ideas Week. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ Channick, Robert (February 18, 2016). "Chicago Tribune names Bruce Dold as new editor; Gerould Kern to retire". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ^ a b Channick, Robert (December 3, 2025). "Bruce Dold, former Chicago Tribune editor and 'consummate newspaperman,' dies at 70". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 3, 2025.