Howard Kurtz
A veteran media critic who dissects the press's own narratives, moving from mainstream newspapers to the center of cable news analysis.
Born 1953 (age 73)·American journalist and author·Birthday: August 1·Baby Boomers
Biography
For decades, Howard Kurtz has operated as the journalist who holds journalism accountable. He cut his teeth at The Washington Post, where his 'Media Notes' column became a must-read insider critique of the news business, examining its biases, pack mentalities, and evolving ethics. His move to CNN in 1998 to host 'Reliable Sources' placed him at the forefront of televised media analysis, a role he held for 15 years. Kurtz's approach is that of a tough-minded reporter on his own industry, often ruffling feathers with pointed critiques of both conservative and liberal outlets. In 2013, his career took a notable turn when he joined Fox News to host 'MediaBuzz,' bringing his brand of scrutiny to a different audience. An author of several books on the media, Kurtz has chronicled its transformation from the rise of 24-hour cable news through the digital and social media revolutions, maintaining a position as a persistent, sometimes controversial, ombudsman of the fourth estate.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Howard was born in 1953, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Howard Was Born
The biggest hits of 1953
#1 Movie
Peter Pan
Best Picture
From Here to Eternity
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Howard's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1953Born
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1958Started school
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1966Became a teenager
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Could drive
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1971Could vote
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Turned 21
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1983Turned 30
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 40
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 50
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 60
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 70
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 73 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the Washington Post's media reporter and columnist for over two decades, shaping coverage of the news industry.
- Hosted CNN's 'Reliable Sources,' the network's long-running media analysis program, from 1998 to 2013.
- Authored several influential books on media, including 'Media Circus' and 'The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media, and Manipulation'.
- Created and hosts 'MediaBuzz' on Fox News, a program dedicated to analyzing media coverage and bias.
Did You Know?
He began his journalism career as a copy boy for The New York Times while still a student at the State University of New York at Albany.
Kurtz won the National Press Club's Arthur Rowse Award for media criticism in 1990.
He is known for his prolific use of Twitter as a platform for real-time media criticism and commentary.
In 2013, he briefly faced suspension from CNN for a reporting error in a story about NBA player Jason Collins, which he addressed on air.
“The media culture is a herd culture; it moves in packs.”
