At Ohio State University, Downie served as the school paper’s editorial editor. The lessons of ethical reporting didn’t come easy, and Downie highlights many of them in his book. Under his leadership, The Washington Post won 25 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper under a single executive editor. Downie oversaw the paper’s coverage of every presidential election from 1984 to 2008. He worked as an editor during Watergate, then took over as The Post’s managing editor in 1984 before moving up to executive editor, the highest position in the newsroom. Starting as an intern in 1964 at age 22, Downie quickly became an award-winning investigative reporter. In it he recalls his journey at the newspaper he helped elevate to international prominence. His childhood passion turned into an impeccable 44-year career at The Washington Post, and it’s all captured in Downie’s new book “All About the Story: News, Power, Politics and The Washington Post,” to be released today. By grade six he was the paper’s editor-in-chief. There he wrote his first story for the school paper about what it was like for students to switch rooms each semester. The origins of Leonard Downie Jr.’s storied journalism career began all the way back in the fifth grade at Landon Elementary in Cleveland, Ohio.

James downie washington post