Poynter Online
Go


Top Story

Public TV, Radio Stations to Increase Local Investigative Coverage
Most Recent Articles
1.Poynter announces publication of a new collection of newspaper pages
9:00 AM Nov. 21, 2009
2.Poynter's Times Publishing Co. sells Governing
5:15 PM Nov. 20, 2009
3.Recommendation for Fewer PAP Screens Sure to Set Off Controversy
10:32 AM Nov. 20, 2009
4.Gene Patterson to Jack Nelson: Save Us a Desk Up There in That Celestial Newsroom
7:03 AM Nov. 20, 2009
5.Public TV, Radio Stations to Increase Local Investigative Coverage
6:19 AM Nov. 20, 2009
Most E-mailed
Recent Comments
Recent Tags
Community Activity

Poynter Training
Poynter Seminars
Small, in-person training experiences.
1.
A New Curriculum for a New Journalism - Jan. 6-8, 2010
Apply by November 23
2.
Multimedia Journalism for College Educators - February 1-5, 2010
Apply by December 14
3.
NewsU: Write Your Heart Out: The Craft of the Personal Essay - January 25-February 19, 2010
Apply by January 4
News University
Today's most popular courses on NewsU, Poynter's e-learning site for journalists.
Webinars
Our online classroom is just a click away. Learn more.
All Webinars

Poynter Forums

View Forum Post

Topic: Memos Sent to Romenesko
Date/Time: 1/9/2006 8:02:33 AM
Title: NYT's Taubman on the death of a colleague
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
Memo from NYT Washington bureau chief Philip Taubman

Washington Bureau:

I'm heartbroken to report that David Rosenbaum died today from the head injuries he absorbed on Friday night when he was mugged not far from his home. David suffered irreversible brain damage from the blow.

The sudden, shocking nature of this news is almost too much to comprehend. David, who was 63, had just opened a new phase in his life, and only hours before the attack was telling colleagues in the bureau about the family vacation he was planning later this winter and how much he relished the freedom and opportunities that came with retirement.

David was one of the most gifted, energetic and accomplished Washington correspondents of his generation. In a biographical sketch that David wrote shortly before his retirement, he said, "To the extent I have a specialization, it is in the intersection of economics, politics and government policy.'' That was a modest way of saying what everyone in Washington knew: No one covered policy and politics better than David Rosenbaum.

That was partly because David was a tireless and skilled reporter and a lucid writer. David was one of the best thinkers and clearest writers in our business. But what made David so special was the insatiable intellectual curiosity that he brought to the most recondite subjects. David didn't just cover the budget, or Social Security, or taxes or any of the other issues he tracked. He studied them and mastered them. And he was passionate about them.

Over the decades that David worked for The Times -- 1968-2005 -- he applied those skills and instincts to a remarkable range of stories, serving as chief congressional correspondent, chief domestic policy correspondent, chief economics correspondent, assistant Washington news editor and Washington business editor. He won the George Polk Award for national reporting in 1990. He covered the Watergate hearings in the Nixon years, tax reform and the Iran-contra affair during the Reagan presidency and many of the budget and tax battles of the 1990's and most recent years. He also write smartly about campaign politics.

David was a model for many Washington reporters, at The Times and at other news organizations. David loved to share his knowledge.

And he was a wise and good friend to his colleagues. The calls and e-mail messages that I fielded from fellow journalists over the weekend were further proof of that.

"David was part of an increasingly scarce breed of Washington reporter who is immune to flattery and access," Bill Keller said of David on Sunday. "He was fascinated by how the place works, but was never seduced by it."

David's wife, Ginny, and their children, Dorothy and Daniel, and a host of other family members gathered round David over the weekend at Howard University Hospital. It was an agonizing time, compounded by the wanton, senseless crime that had so suddenly felled David. They surrounded David with love and memories of a wonderful, happy, productive life. They, and all of us, will keep those memories alive.

Phil

View Complete Forum Topic

Username
Password
New User? Signup Now
Poynter Careers
See All Jobs
Add Your Resume
Post Your Job
Become a Member
More media jobs