A columnist at the Post since 2007, Gerson was a senior editor, covering politics, at U.S. News & World Report before joining George W. Bush’s presidential campaign in 1999 as chief speechwriter and a top policy adviser — roles he continued in the White House after Bush was elected president in 2000.
“Without the ability to think critically, the current flood of information can leave people less informed,” Gerson said. “News literacy has become essential to any definition of basic literacy. And by teaching young people to be discerning readers, the News Literacy Project is also preparing them to be responsible citizens.”
A key advocate for AIDS and malaria initiatives in the Bush administration, Gerson is now a senior adviser at ONE, a bipartisan organization dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases. He is the author of Heroic Conservatism, published in 2007, and co-author, with Peter Wehner, of City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era, published in 2010.
Gerson joins a distinguished and engaged group of current journalists, former journalists, business leaders and educators that sets policy and provides oversight and support for the News Literacy Project. John Carroll, NLP’s board chair, said, “I have every confidence that Mike Gerson will be a strong member of our board, which has enjoyed success so far but has much to do as we continue to build the program and take it to national scale.”