Douglas Frantz Explained

Douglas Frantz
Office:28th Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
President:Barack Obama
Deputy:Valerie Fowler[1]
Term Start:September 3, 2013
Term End:October 1, 2015
Predecessor:Michael Hammer
Successor:John Kirby
Birth Date:29 September 1949
Birth Place:North Manchester, Indiana, U.S.
Spouse:Catherine Collins
Alma Mater:DePauw University
Columbia University

Douglas Frantz (born September 29, 1949 in North Manchester, Indiana)[2] is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning former investigative journalist and author, and served as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development from 2015 to 2017.[3]

He resigned as Los Angeles Times Managing Editor in 2007 after blocking the publication of an article about the Armenian genocide; Frantz said his resignation was not related to the ensuing controversy.[4]

Career

Frantz graduated from DePauw University in 1971 and earned a M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[5] He was an investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and The New York Times.[6]

Frantz served as the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times, and the managing editor of the Los Angeles Times from 2005 to 2007. Frantz was chief investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[7] He is also the former Managing Director of Kroll's Business Intelligence Washington office.[8]

From 2013 to 2015, Frantz served as the State Department's Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.[9]

Armenian genocide controversy

As the Los Angeles Times Managing Editor, Frantz blocked a story on the Armenian genocide in April 2007 written by Mark Arax, a veteran Times journalist of Armenian descent. Frantz argued that Arax previously had expressed an opinion on the topic and therefore was biased on the subject, apparently referring to a letter co-signed by Arax that endorsed the LA Times policy of referring to the event as "Armenian Genocide".[10] Arax, who has published similar articles before,[11] lodged a discrimination complaint and threatened a federal lawsuit. Frantz was accused of having a bias obtained while being stationed in Istanbul, Turkey. Frantz resigned from the paper on July 6.

Personal

Frantz has written 10 nonfiction books, six of them with his wife, Catherine Collins. Their most recent book, Salmon Wars is about the environmental and health dangers of the salmon fishing industry. They live in a fishing village in Nova Scotia.[12]

Awards

Works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Valerie Crites Fowler. U.S. Department of State. January 28, 2014. November 27, 2015.
  2. Web site: Ask a Reporter Q&A: Mark Landler . 2002. The New York Times . https://web.archive.org/web/20091015031731/http://nytimes.com/learning/students/ask_reporters/Doug_Frantz.html . October 15, 2009.
  3. Web site: OECD appoints new Deputy Secretary-General. . October 1, 2015 .
  4. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jun-29-fi-frantz29-story.html Managing editor to leave The Times
  5. Web site: Douglas Frantz '71 Appointed Investigations Editor of New York Times. 2020-08-05. DePauw University. en.
  6. News: Douglas Frantz. The New York Times . Douglas . Frantz . Catherine . Collins.
  7. News: Douglas Frantz, former Times managing editor, to be chief investigator for Senate panel . Los Angeles Times . January 8, 2009.
  8. Web site: Pulitzer Prize Winner Douglas Frantz Joins Risk Consulting Firm Kroll . 2015-01-25 . 2015-02-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150218222247/http://www.govconexecutive.com/2011/08/pulitzer-prize-winner-douglas-frantz-joins-risk-consulting-firm-kroll/ . dead .
  9. Web site: U.S. Welcomes Appointment of Douglas Frantz as Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). U.S. Department of State. October 1, 2015.
  10. http://www.jewishworldwatch.org/news/press_articles/05_04_07-1.html The Armenian Genocide Debate Pits Moral Values Against Realpolitik
  11. http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/04/armenian_genocide_dispute.php LA Observed: Armenian genocide dispute erupts at LAT
  12. Web site: Douglas Frantz . Artificial Intelligence & Equality Initiative . April 15, 2022.
  13. Web site: The Pulitzer Prizes - Search: frantz. pulitzer.org.