[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 8, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING WASHINGTON POST EXECUTIVE EDITOR LEONARD DOWNIE JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 8, 2008

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Leonard 
Downie Jr. for 17 years of service and dedication as the executive 
editor for The Washington Post. Leonard is widely recognized as one of 
the great editors of our time.
  Mr. Downie began his career for The Washington Post as a summer 
intern in 1964. He soon established himself as a well-known local 
investigative reporter in Washington, specializing in crime, courts, 
housing and urban affairs. To honor his superior reporting, Mr. Downie 
received two Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild Front Page awards, 
The American Bar Association Gavel Award for legal reporting, and the 
John Hancock Award for excellent business and financial writing.
  Mr. Downie then worked on the Metropolitan staff for 15 years, where 
he earned the title of deputy metropolitan editor. In 1979, he was 
named London correspondent. 3 years later, he returned to Washington as 
national editor, and, in 1984, became the managing editor and director 
of The Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service.
  On September 1, 1991, after 7 years as managing editor, Mr. Downie 
was named executive editor of the Washington Post. Under his guidance, 
the Post developed into a major online force. His immense talent for 
investigative journalism was also apparent as the Post won numerous 
prizes for high-profile expositions, including the secret CIA prisons 
in Eastern European and the Watergate Scandal. His excellent leadership 
was rewarded; the post won 25 Pulitzer Prizes under his tenure. Mr. 
Downie announced his last day at The Washington Post will be on 
September 9, 2008. Leonard, always modest, summed up his management 
philosophy in one sentence: ``You hire people smarter and more talented 
than you and enable them to do their best work.''
  Madam Speaker, in closing, I would like to thank Mr. Downie for 
molding The Washington Post into a dominant news outlet, for his 
contributions to journalism, and for doing his part to keep our world 
honest. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating him on his 
many successes and in wishing him the best of luck in all future 
endeavors.

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