Russell Wayne Baker (born August 14, 1925) is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning writer known for his satirical commentary and self-critical prose. August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The gold medal awarded for Public Service in Journalism The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical compositions. ...

Early years

Baker was born in Morrisonville, Virginia. He received his B.A. from the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences at Johns Hopkins University in 1947. He went on to become an essayist, journalist and biographer, as well as the host of the PBS show Masterpiece Theatre from 1992 to 2004. Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 35th 110,862 km² 320 km 690 km 7. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B.) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... The Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876, is a private institution of higher learning located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... An essayist is an author who writes compositions which can be about any particular subject. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article needs cleanup. ... PBS re-directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ... Masterpiece Theatre is a long-running television series produced by WGBH that premiered on PBS on January 10, 1971. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Description

Neil Postman, in the preface to Conscientious Objections, describes Baker as "...like some fourth century citizen of Rome who is amused and intrigued by the Empire's collapse but who still cares enough to mock the stupidities that are hastening its end. He is, in my opinion, a precious national resource, and as long as he does not get his own television show, America will remain stronger than Russia." (1991, xii) He received his Pulitzer Prizes for the New York Times "Observer" column he wrote, and for his memoir entitled "Growing Up." To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

Notable Quotes

"The goal of all inanimate objects is to resist man and ultimately defeat him."

"The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist."

"Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them are not really progress at all, but just terrible things."

"Reporters thrive on the world's misfortune. For this reason they often take an indecent pleasure in events that dismay the rest of humanity."

"I gave up on new poetry myself thirty years ago, when most of it began to read like coded messages passing between lonely aliens on a hostile world."

External links

• 1986 audio interview of Russell Baker by Don Swaim of CBS Radio - RealAudio