Richard
Byrne
Richard Byrne
rtbyrne300 (at) gmail (dot) com
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
• Proven track record of excellence as an editor across print and web platforms.
• Leader of newsroom teams that have won peer-juried awards for editorial content and design.
• Journalist and essayist for major U.S. publications.
• Top-level expertise in covering higher education, international affairs, politics, media, and the arts.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Founder
Richard Byrne Projects
2017–present
Provider of editing and writing services for top publications and institutions. Most recently, I had a long-term contract as editor of The Wilson Quarterly at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. (Summer 2019 issue through Summer 2021.)Peabody Magazine, Maryland Carey Law magazine,
Other clients include Maryland Carey Law, York Magazine, MIT News, BOSS Magazine, and Johns Hopkins University publications including Krieger Arts & Sciences, Peabody Magazine, Hopkins Medicine, Carey Business, Johns Hopkins Engineering, Johns Hopkins Public Health, and Johns Hopkins SAIS. Collaborations on events with the Albert Shanker Institute and the Peggy Lillis Foundation, and marketing consultation for Johns Hopkins University’s Summer Programs.
Editor
The Wilson Quarterly
March 2019-September 2021
Editor of The Wilson Quarterly - one of America's preeminent journals of ideas. Published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. www.wilsonquarterly.com
Founding Editor
UMBC Magazine (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
2008–2016
Founding director of editorial content and design for general interest magazine at a dynamic public research university. UMBC Magazine won numerous awards for design and staff writing in my tenure, including a national bronze medal for general excellence in the CASE Circle of Excellence Awards (2013) which placed UMBC Magazine in the top eight university magazines in the nation that year. My responsibilities expanded to include a leading role in strategic communications across platforms – including web and video – for UMBC’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2016.
Senior Editor, Research and Faculty
The Chronicle of Higher Education
2003-2008
I led a team of journalists and editors covering the sciences and humanities, academic publishing, and stories related to faculty affairs, including teaching, tenure, and academic freedom. I managed newsroom projects across editorial departments on the future of higher education and student participation in elections. Co-editor of a package on academic plagiarism nominated for a National Magazine Award (2005).
2010 - present
2010 - present
Deputy Editor/Interim Editor-in-Chief
Washington City Paper
2001-2002
Deputy editor-in-chief for a leading alternative newspaper. I led a team of staff writers and freelancers, edited weekly columnists, and directed local news coverage. I also wrote a media column (“Press Corpse”). Interim editor-in-chief (October 2001 to January 2002).
Senior Editor
The Riverfront Times (St. Louis, MO)
1989–1991 and 1993–1999
Weekly columnist on media affairs and music. Reporter on national politics, environmental issues, interna- tional affairs, and the arts.
Staff Writer
Baltimore City Paper
1992-1993
Reporter on local affairs; Contributing writer in music and books (1986 to 1990).
SIGNIFICANT PUBLICATIONS
Articles: The Washington Post, Time, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, The Nation, The American Prospect, BookForum, New York Magazine.
Contributing Writer and Editor: New York Press (1992–2000); Alexandria Press – a Belgrade-based literary and political journal devoted to Balkan civil society (1998–2007); Boston Phoenix (2002–2003).
Liner notes for reissues of R.E.M.’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Warner Bros.) and Uncle Tupelo’s Anodyne (Rhino) and No Depression (Sony Legacy).
Researcher and writer of Life in the Slow Lane: Tracking Decades of Automaker Roadblocks to Fuel Economy for the Union of Concerned Scientists (2003).
AWARDS
German Marshall Fund Journalism Fellow, 2002
Fellowship awarded to study politics and popular music in Serbia.
Pew Fellowship in International Reporting, 1999
Fellowship awarded to study and report on media and politics in Serbia and in Bosnia.
EDUCATION
B.A. in English (summa cum laude) University of Maryland, Baltimore County (1986)
M.F.A. in Writing (Poetry and Playwriting) Washington University in St. Louis (1989)