Pulitzer winning biz columnist to cut back on writing for teaching

Steven Pearlstein, the business columnist at the Washington Post who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2008 in the commentary category, announced at the end of his column in Wednesday’s paper that he’s going to limit his writing for the paper so that he can teach.

Pearlstein writes, “Starting next fall, I’ll be the Clarence J. Robinson professor of public and international affairs at George Mason University, teaching undergraduate courses on the basic principles of economics, economic policy and the media. I’ll also continue to write this column once a week and moderate The Post’s On Leadership Web site.

“I’ve been at The Post nearly 23 years, during which I’ve had great gigs as an editor, reporter, foreign correspondent and columnist. Now, as I head into my 60s, George Mason has offered me the opportunity to teach some of what I’ve learned to its large, energetic and diverse student body. The new schedule won’t start until next summer, which is a good thing, since I have lots of books to read between now and then.”

Read more here.

Pearlstein joined The Post in 1988 as deputy business editor, overseeing the paper’s daily and Sunday coverage. Five years later, he became the newspaper’s chief economic correspondent. He began writing his twice-weekly column for The Post in the spring of 2003 and earned a reputation for his hard-hitting commentary on a wide range of economic and business issues.

He won the Gerald Loeb Award for his columns in 2006 and was honored with the Pulitzer for commentary in 2008 for his columns about mounting problems in the financial markets. At the time, it was said, “his insightful columns…explore the nation’s complex economic ills with masterful clarity.”