Paul Gigot

Paul Gigot
Gigot in 2015
Born (1955-05-24) May 24, 1955 (age 69)
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationDartmouth College (BA)
Occupation(s)Political analyst, journalist
AwardsPulitzer Prize (2000)

Paul Anthony Gigot (/dʒiːˈɡoʊ/; born May 24, 1955) is an American Pulitzer Prize–winning[1] conservative political commentator and editor of the editorial pages for The Wall Street Journal. He is also the moderator of the public affairs television series Journal Editorial Report, a program reflecting the Journal's editorial views which airs on Fox News Channel.

Early life and education

Paul Gigot was born in San Antonio, Texas, and he and his family moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, not long afterward. He is Roman Catholic and attended Catholic schools for 12 years.[2][3] He graduated from Abbot Pennings High School in De Pere, Wisconsin in 1973.[4]

He graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1977,[2] where he was editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth.[5] He was a student of English professor and conservative columnist Jeffrey Hart.[6]

Career

Prior to becoming an editor at The Wall Street Journal, Gigot spent 14 years writing the column "Potomac Watch". His career at the Journal began in 1980, when he became a reporter covering Chicago, Illinois. Two years later he became the paper's Asia correspondent in Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong in 1984, Gigot was placed in charge of The Wall Street Journal Asia.

From 1986 to 1987, Gigot served as a White House Fellow under President Ronald Reagan.

During the 1990s, he was a regular guest on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, appearing in the program's weekly political analysis segment, opposite Mark Shields, the regular liberal pundit.

In 2000, Gigot won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his weekly "Potomac Watch" column in The Wall Street Journal.[1][7] In a column cited by the Pulitzer jury and highlighted by The New York Times as an example of his insightful conservative commentary, he examined the Clinton impeachment, writing "[a] president paranoid about his legacy even before the perjury scandal will now begin a campaign to make impeachment seem illegitimate", and remarking "[only in Washington] could a man who lies under oath be equated with someone who tries to defend the value of that oath."[7][8]

He became the Wall Street Journal's vice president and editorial-page editor in 2001.[2][9]

Paul Gigot has been described[by whom?] as leading opposition to the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, via the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal.[10]

In 2017, Gigot was alleged to have forced out junior colleague Mark Lasswell from The Wall Street Journal the previous summer, after Lasswell continued to publish op-eds critical of Donald Trump. Gigot refused to comment on the personnel change.[11]

Under Gigot's tenure as editorial page editor and vice president[when?], The Wall Street Journal's editorial page has been criticized by other media and its own reporters for what these critics perceive to be a pro-Trump stance.[12][13][14]

Gigot hosts the weekly cable show Journal Editorial Report on Fox News Channel.

Notes

  1. ^ a b "2000 Pulitzer Prize Winners - COMMENTARY, Citation", The Pulitzer Prizes website, archived from the original on 2000-08-16, retrieved 2024-11-21, Awarded to Paul A. Gigot of The Wall Street Journal for his informative and insightful columns on politics and government.
  2. ^ a b c McDougall, Connie (Spring 2003). "Breakfast With Paul Gigot". Seattle Pacific University. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  3. ^ Gigot, Paul A. (5 February 2011). "Packers part of growing up in Green Bay". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Paul Gigot at the Wisconsin Historical Society". Wisconsinhistory.org. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  5. ^ Russo, Brad (4 April 2000). "Gigot '77 wins Pulitzer Prize for commentary". The Dartmouth, Inc. Retrieved 14 December 2020. Paul Gigot, Class of 1977 and former editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary writing yesterday.
  6. ^ Smith, Emily Esfahani (January 2018). "No Ordinary Joe". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. 112 (3): 48. Retrieved 14 December 2020. As Joe [Rago] was getting ready to graduate, Hart sent Joe's cover letter and clips to his former student, Gigot, editor of the Journal's editorial pages.
  7. ^ a b "The 2000 Pulitzer Prizes", The New York Times website, 2000-04-10, archived from the original on 2024-11-21, retrieved 2024-11-21, In one column, Mr. Gigot concluded: "Only here could a man who lies under oath be equated with someone who tries to defend the value of that oath. The point is never, 'What's right?' but rather, 'Who won?' "
  8. ^ Gigot, Paul A. (1999-02-12), "Hyde on His Mistakes -- and Ours", The Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, U.S.A., p. A16, ISSN 0099-9660, archived from the original on 2001-07-17, retrieved 2024-11-21 – via The Pulitzer Prizes website, This matters, because Mr. Clinton isn't about to let his impeachers alone. A president paranoid about his legacy even before the perjury scandal will now begin a campaign to make impeachment seem illegitimate. And he may succeed if Republicans allow him to spin the story by himself.
  9. ^ "Paul Gigot — Editor, editorial page at the Wall Street Journal". Paul Gigot is the editorial page editor and vice president of The Wall Street Journal, a position he has held since 2001.
  10. ^ Halperin, Mark; Heilemann, John (November 2013). Double Down: Game Change 2012. Penguin. p. 137. ISBN 978-1101638705. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  11. ^ Gray, Rosie (10 February 2017). "Conflict Over Trump Forces Out an Opinion Editor at The Wall Street Journal". The Atlantic. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  12. ^ Schwartz, Jason (30 October 2017). "Murdoch-owned outlets bash Mueller, seemingly in unison". Politico. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  13. ^ Pompeo, Joe (1 November 2017). ""A Different Level of Crazy": Is Civil War Breaking Out in The Wall Street Journal Over the Editorial Board's Coverage of Mueller?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  14. ^ Salam, Reihan (31 October 2017). "Why the Wall Street Journal Is Calling for Robert Mueller's Ouster". Slate. Retrieved 21 December 2017.