John Avlon: Covering the Intersection of Politics and Power

John Avlon's Background and 9/11 Experience

• Served as Chief Speechwriter for Mayor Rudy Giuliani during the September 11 attacks; was 28 years old at the time.
• Described the immediate public reaction as a temporary inability to assimilate the scale of the attack until the second plane landed.
• Noted the loss of 343 firefighters and EMTs, citing specific relationships with Fire Commissioner Tommy Van Essen and Executive Assistant Beth Hatton.
• Defined the city's response as a legacy of making "the worst of humanity with the best of humanity."
• Cautioned against conflating the response to 9/11 with the Iraq War, arguing it is a mistake to forget the lessons of the attack in the context of ongoing non-optional national challenges.
• Praised the 9/11 museum for its handling of the memorialization of the event.

Transition from Politics to Journalism

• Argues that politics and journalism should be "two sides of the same coin," driven by the same civic commitment and care for ideas.
• Established a column at the New York Sun in April 2002 after working in City Hall.
• Applied a journalistic rule of proposing solutions alongside criticism to ensure accountability and "light."
• Views the role of a columnist and author as imposing perspective on daily chaos to help audiences understand their responsibilities.
• Cites a tradition of former speechwriters (Peggy Noonan, William Safire, Chris Matthews) successfully transitioning to political journalism.

Daily Beast Strategy and Operations

• Took over as Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Beast approximately five years ago; the publication is led by founder Tina Brown.
• Distinguishes the outlet by fielding reporters who write with a "magazine voice" while maintaining a "newspaper metabolism" of original reporting.
• Focuses editorial coverage on the intersections of politics, pop culture, and power.
• Maintains a lean newsroom that has doubled its audience under Avlon's leadership to reach 1.1 million daily readers.
• Adopts a "nonpartisan but not neutral" stance, refusing to imply moral equivalence on every issue while explicitly committing to holding power accountable.
• Hires reporters with diverse ideological backgrounds (e.g., hiring one from Mother Jones and one from the conservative Free Beacon for the White House team) to ensure balance and sourcing quality.
• Established core newsroom mantras including Ben Bradley's "Today our best, tomorrow better" and Michael Hastings' focus on "politicians, Hollywood, and war."
• Explicitly targets confronting "bullies, bigots, and hypocrites" as a central pillar of the organization's mission.

The State of Modern Journalism

• Avlon stated that 2016-2017 represented the "best time to be a journalist" because the mission was clear and the work was difficult.
• Acknowledges that the current news environment is disrupted by hyper-partisan media, hate news, and fake news.
• Describes the current Trump administration as predisposed to lying or avoiding truth, making the role of journalism in holding power accountable more critical than ever.
• Characterizes the Mueller probe as one of the "great stories of our time," emphasizing that it is serious business regarding self-government rather than mere spectator entertainment.
• Does not explicitly cheerlead for impeachment but insists journalists must follow facts where they lead regardless of political preference.
• Defines success in journalism as a mission-driven business rather than a high-margin investment opportunity.

Analysis of "Washington's Farewell Address"

• Avlon authored Washington's Farewell, a book examining the former president's final political testament.
• The book's themes of combating hyper-partisanship gained renewed relevance following the release of the musical Hamilton and the song "One Last Time."
• Identifies the Farewell Address as an eerily prescient document warning against three specific threats to the republic:
  • Hyper-partisanship and the hijacking of politics by special interest factions.
  • Excessive national debt.
  • Foreign wars and foreign influence in U.S. elections.
• Defines "liberty" as requiring self-discipline, distinct from mere freedom or independence.
• Outlines Washington's "pillars of liberty": national unity, political moderation, fiscal responsibility, morality/religion in a pluralistic society, and peace through strength.
• Argues that the Founding Fathers feared political deadlock caused by hyper-partisanship would lead citizens to seek solace in demagogues with authoritarian ambitions.
• Positions the Address as a touchstone capable of appealing to both the left and the right to define common ground and avoid historical traps.