Bill Keller (born January 18, 1949) is an American journalist. He was the founding editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project, a nonprofit that reports on criminal justice in the United States.[2] Previously, he was a columnist for The New York Times, and served as the paper's executive editor from July 2003 until September 2011. On June 2, 2011, he announced that he would step down from the position to become a full-time writer. Jill Abramson replaced him as executive editor.[3]
In an attempt to respond to criticism stemming from the disclosure of the classified Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, the NSA program's official name, Keller stated in a published letter[11] that President Bush himself had acknowledged as early as September 2001 that efforts were underway "to identify and investigate the financial infrastructure of the international terrorist networks" and "to follow the money as a trail to the terrorists." In an Op-ed column in The Times, Keller, together with Los Angeles Times editor Dean Baquet wrote that "Our job, especially in times like these, is to bring our readers information that will enable them to judge how well their elected leaders are fighting on their behalf and at what price." Keller's critics, including U.S. Treasury SecretaryJohn W. Snow, responded to Keller's letter by pointing out that there is a vast difference between stating general intentions to track terrorist finances and the exact means employed to achieve those goals. But, as Keller wrote, this was the same Secretary Snow who invited a group of reporters to a 6-day trip on a military aircraft "to show off the department's efforts to track terrorist financing."
Keller was a leading supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, explaining his backing for military action in his article 'The I-Can't-Believe-I'm-A-Hawk Club'.[12] Two days after the invasion, Keller wrote the column 'Why Colin Powell Should Go',[13] arguing for US Secretary of State's resignation because his strategy of diplomacy at the UN had failed. In contrast, Keller was much more sympathetic to Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, describing him as the 'Sunshine Warrior'.[14]
On July 6, 2005, Keller spoke in defense of Judith Miller and her refusal to give up documents relating to the Valerie Plame case.[15]
Keller discussed the deliberations behind the Times' decision to publish the story in a July 5, 2006 PBS interview with Jeffrey Brown that included a discussion of the issues involved with former National Security Agency Director Admiral Bobby Ray Inman.[17]
Catholic Church sex abuse crisis
Keller widely reported on the Catholic sex abuse cases and flatly put the blame on John Paul II himself : "The uncomfortable and largely unspoken truth is that the current turmoil in the Roman Catholic Church is not just a sad footnote to the life of a beloved figure. This is a crisis of the pope's making."[18]
Nelson Mandela
Keller wrote a 128-page juvenile biography of Nelson Mandela published by Kingfisher Books in 2008, Tree Shaker: The Story of Nelson Mandela.[19] He had served as the Times bureau chief in Johannesburg from April 1992 to May 1995[7]—spanning the end of apartheid in South Africa and election of Mandela's African National Congress as the governing party in 1994.
Keller's wife since 1999, Emma Gilbey, wrote a full biography of Winnie Mandela published in 1993, The Lady: The Life and Times of Winnie Mandela (Jonathan Cape).[1]
Lisa Bonchek Adams column
In January 2014, two articles by Keller and his wife about cancer blogger Lisa Bonchek Adams generated substantial controversy about the nature of social media, digital journalism and terminal illness. The incident came to be known in social media as KellerGate.[20]
On January 8, 2014, Keller's wife Emma had written an article about Lisa Adams in The Guardian about whether people with terminal illness should be so public on social media. She wrote, "Should there be boundaries in this kind of experience? Is there such a thing as TMI? Are her tweets a grim equivalent of deathbed selfies? Why am I so obsessed?" The article was subsequently retracted by the editor, in part due to complaints by Adams and her family that the article "completely misrepresented the nature of her illness and her reasons for tweeting, was riddled with inaccuracies, and quoted from a private direct message to Keller through Twitter published without permission."[21]
A week later, Bill Keller published his own article about Lisa Adams called "Heroic Measures," this time questioning whether Lisa's efforts to prolong her life were worth the effort and cost, and suggesting those who "accept their inevitable fate with grace and courage" should be worthy of equal praise.[22]
The article ignited a backlash in many media channels. Articles appeared in The Nation ("Bill Keller Bullies Cancer Patient"),[23] and The New Yorker[24] among dozens of others.
The Times' public editor, Margaret Sullivan, responded to the criticism in a public column.[25] The response included Keller's responses defending the column. Sullivan wrote that it is not her practice to comment on whether she agrees with columnists, but did cite "issues here of tone and sensitivity." She also pointed out factual inaccuracies which were subsequently corrected.
The Marshall Project
The Marshall Project is a nonprofit nonpartisan online journalism organization covering criminal justice in the United States. The project was originally conceived by former hedge fund manager, filmmaker and journalist Neil Barsky, who announced it in his byline in an unrelated New York Times article in November 2013.[26][27] In February 2014, The New York Times reported that Keller was going to work for the Marshall Project.[27][28] The Marshall Project formally launched in November 2014.[29] Keller was editor in chief of the Marshall Project from 2014 until his retirement in 2019.[30][31]