Peter Osnos

Peter Osnos is a journalist turned book editor/publisher. He spent 18 years working at various bureaus for The Washington Post before founding Public Affairs Books. More

Peter Osnos is founder and editor at large of PublicAffairs books and a media fellow at The Century Foundation which distributes this weekly "Platform" column. (An archive of the columns is available at www.tcf.org.) He is vice-chairman of the Columbia Journalism Review and executive director of The Caravan Project, which is also based at The Century Foundation.

Osnos spent 18 years at the Washington Post, where he was variously Indochina bureau chief, Moscow correspondent, foreign editor, national editor and London bureau chief.

He was publisher of Random House's Times Books Division from 1991 to 1996, and was also vice president and associate publisher of the Random House imprint. Authors he has worked with include President Bill Clinton, former President Jimmy Carter, Rosalyn Carter, Nancy Reagan, former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, Barack Obama, Boris Yeltsin, Paul Volcker, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Clark Clifford, Sam Donaldson, Morley Safer, Peggy Noonan, Molly Ivins, Stanley Karnow, Jim Lehrer, Muhammad Yunus, Scott McClellan, Robert McNamara, Natan Sharansky, and journalists from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The Atlantic and the Economist.

He served as chair of the Trade Division of the Association of American Publishers Committee, and is an emeritus member of the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch. He serves on the board of other journalism and human rights organizations and is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations.
Why the Long Lost Google Book Pact Still Matters

Why the Long Lost Google Book Pact Still Matters

The future of digital publishing remains uncertain as the courts continue to debate eBook copyright issues More »

Movies on Demand: What's Good and What's Missing

Movies on Demand: What's Good and What's Missing

With video rental stores going out of business, here's a great way to catch up on this year's awards contenders More »

What Went Wrong at Borders

What Went Wrong at Borders

The book-selling chain, once a retail juggernaut, is possibly facing bankruptcy. How did it get there? More »

What Happened to Net Neutrality?

What Happened to Net Neutrality?

The administration's commitment to the broadest possible access to technology across all platforms has been significantly weakened by the FCC decision More »

Are We Reaching Techno-Digital Overload?

Are We Reaching Techno-Digital Overload?

Millions of dollars are spent developing new technologies. Most of them fail. Should we put our digital exploration on pause? More »

Glad Tidings for E-Books

Glad Tidings for E-Books

How the digitization of literature has increased access to lesser known works and improved the reader experience More »

WikiLeaks and the Fate of Digital Media

WikiLeaks and the Fate of Digital Media

We had better get used to accommodating the principle that confidential communications regularly will be turned into public spectacle More »

How China Elevates the Nobel Peace Prize

How China Elevates the Nobel Peace Prize

The authorities clearly see Liu Xiaobo as a threat to their authority, heightening the importance of the award More »

This November's Winners: Not a Politician Among Them

For the past five years, Civic Ventures, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that has been instrumental in developing the concept of "encore" careers for older Americans, has been awarding the Purpose Prize, funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation. The winners—five received $100,000 and another five got $50,000—are all over age 60 and have founded projects that have achieved sufficient success to justify the cash and… More »

Public School Chic: How Saving American Education Became Cool

Public School Chic: How Saving American Education Became Cool

From the success of "Waiting for 'Superman'" to a publishing executive's takeover of New York City's schools, a look at the cause of the moment More »

NPR's First 40 Years: Glory and Mishaps

NPR's First 40 Years: Glory and Mishaps

A new book celebrates the organization's anniversary chronicling both the high and low points of its history More »

Can Silvio Berlusconi Compete With Facebook?

Can Silvio Berlusconi Compete With Facebook?

He's the most powerful man in Italian TV, newspapers, and magazines. But can he continue to dominate in the Internet age? More »

Why Jon Stewart Is Good News

Why Jon Stewart Is Good News

While other live political comedy isn't worth watching, this host delivers outstanding performances night after night More »

Why E-books Are Such a Big Deal

Why E-books Are Such a Big Deal

The fate of "The New Nobility" demonstrates how the book industry is changing to accommodate niche titles More »

Thinking Alike in Washington and Hollywood

Thinking Alike in Washington and Hollywood

The 'National Journal' and the 'Hollywood Reporter' makeovers demonstrate how savvy media strategies can maintain premium branding More »

Tony Blair's 'Special Relationship'

Tony Blair's 'Special Relationship'

The former Prime Minister's autobiography shows how he strengthened his country's link to the United States More »

Celebrating 'The March of Time'

Celebrating 'The March of Time'

In its 75th anniversary, this classic Time, Inc. production highlights the importance of documentary filmmaking More »

An Independent Bookstore, Rising From the Ashes

An Independent Bookstore, Rising From the Ashes

Martha's Vineyard's Bunch of Grapes, represents the struggle that many small book retailers are facing in today's e-reader economy More »

Afghanistan: As Tough as Reporting Gets

Afghanistan: As Tough as Reporting Gets

Compared to the Iraq War, coverage in Afghanistan has been sparse. Why it's so hard to get journalists out on the scene. More »

What Even Rupert Murdoch Can't Control

What Even Rupert Murdoch Can't Control

Sarah Ellison's new book sheds light on the media mogul's legacy, asking what's going to happen after he's gone More »

The Biggest Story in Photos

Protests Spread Across Brazil

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