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Blake Hounshell, a political journalist who worked forThe New York Times, died on Tuesday.
His family confirmed the news in a statement to the publication, adding that his death came “after a long and courageous battlewith depression.”
In a memo to employees, Joseph Kahn,The Times' executive editor and Carolyn Ryan, the newspapers' managing editor, said, “We are deeply saddenedto share the tragic news that our colleague Blake Hounshell has passed away,” according to Fox News Digital.
The letter continued and saluted Hounshell’s efforts after he began working atThe Timesin 2021.
“Many of us worked closely alongside Blake since he joinedThe Timesin 2021,” it read. “Blake was a dedicated journalist who quickly distinguished himself as our lead politics newsletter writer and a gifted observer of our country’s political scene. He became an indispensable and always insightful voice in the report during a busy election cycle.”
Kahn and Ryan continued, “Blake was devoted to his family and a friend of many on our politics and Washington teams, who have worked alongside him for many years. We will be in touch with more information on how to support his family soon.”
Hounshell, who lived in northwest Washington, leaves behind his wife Sandy Choi and children David and Astrid, perThe Times.
Politicians and peers reacted to Hounshell’s death on social media.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman recalled, “Blake Hounshell was a fellow stroke survivor, and one of the first interviews I did when I returned to the campaign trail and struggled to find my words.”
“He showed compassion and humanity in a way few others had,” Fetterman said. “This is heartbreaking.”
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Susan Glasser, a staff writer atThe New Yorker,remembered Hounshell as a “friend, partner, and journalistic inspirationfor many years through our time together atForeign PolicyandPolitico,” adding, “I will have more to say but for now I just want to say how much I will miss him. RIP, dear friend.”
New York Timeswriter Liam Stack shared a screenshot of Kahn’s memo and said he was “shocked and so sad” about Hounshell’s death.
“I met him in Cairo when I was 22, on the day I got my very first newspaper job,” Stack recalled. “I was excited when he joinedThe Timesand wish I’d spent more time hanging out with him here.”
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While atThe Times,Hounshell ran the popular “On Politics” newsletter. Before joining the publication, he worked at Politicofor eight years and served as the digital editorial director, managing editor for Washington and political news, along with the managing editor and editor-in-chief of Politico’swebsite that he developed, according toThe Times.
After writing blogs for 15 years, he got his big break as the managing editor ofForeign Policy, where he worked from 2009 to 2013. During his tenure, the magazine garnered three National Magazine Awards,The Timesnoted.
Hounshell, a Delaware and Pittsburgh native, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Yale in 2002, and later learned Arabic while in Cairo,The Timessaid.
Politicopaid tribute to Hounshell, calling him “a witty and astute political observerwho possessed a special knack for understanding the dynamics of internet journalism and became one of the driving forces behind POLITICO’s success over nearly a decade.”
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source: people.com
