Pulitzer winner Pearlstein ends regular Washington Post column

Washington Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his commentary, has decided to end his regular column for the paper.

Pearlstein writes, “Last fall, I became a full-time professor at George Mason University. Teaching undergraduates has been fun and rewarding, but it’s proven to be a challenge to do it while also turning out an original, well-reported weekly column. There might have been a time when a columnist wasn’t required to constantly follow the breaking news and nonstop commentary, but in the era of the blog and the 24/7 news cycle, that time has passed.

“When this column was launched in 2003, I told myself and my editors that I thought I could sustain it for a decade — that after that, I might succumb to the temptation of writing only about the topics I already know, relying on sources I’ve already come to trust and saying things I’ve already said. My greatest fear was becoming the journalistic equivalent of one of those ballplayers who, as he walks off the field after hitting into a double play, prompts one fan to turn to the other and say, ‘He was once a fabulous hitter.’

“My decade has now come to an end. This will be my last regular column in the Business section. When I get the irresistible urge to comment or let loose a zinger, I’ll be sending it in real time to the Post’s WonkBlog, where Ezra Klein and his crew have put together the best source anywhere for smart, timely analysis of economic policy.

“Most of my journalistic focus, however, will be on longer, more magazine-like pieces — profiles, narratives, trend stories and analyses — that will appear about once a month in Sunday Business, Outlook, Style or anywhere else that makes sense in the printed paper and online.”

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