Robert Novak
The newspaper columnist who was the ‘Prince of Darkness’
Robert Novak
1931–2009
For 46 years Robert Novak, who has died of a brain tumor at 78, was one of the nation’s most popular syndicated columnists. At its peak, his column “Inside Report,” written for three decades with Rowland Evans, ran in 300 newspapers and was considered essential reading for anyone interested in Washington politics. Novak was widely known as the “Prince of Darkness” for his ability to ferret out stories from politics’ hidden depths, as well as for his swarthy looks and scowling demeanor.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Novak worked for the Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal before joining with Evans in 1963 to write their column for the New York Herald Tribune, said the Chicago Sun-Times. They were an odd couple: Evans was “a Philadelphia blue blood, Yale graduate, and friend of John F. Kennedy.” Novak, who had grown up Jewish in Joliet, Ill., and attended the University of Illinois, was a self-described “right-wing ideologue.” But “their combination of tenacious reporting and sharp perspective” proved unbeatable. Among their first scoops were early reports that Barry Goldwater would be the likely 1964 Republican presidential nominee.
Novak said he was a “stirrer up of strife,” said The New York Times, a pose especially evident on such public-affairs shows as The Capital Gang and Crossfire. On the 40th anniversary of his column, he noted that it had been called “Red-baiter, Arabist, Chinese Communist, and U.S. corporate apologist, labor-baiter, homophobe, warmonger, isolationist.” He “relished making outrageous comments. He once complained that his Thanksgiving dinner had been ruined by seeing so many homeless people on television.”
In 2003, Novak achieved new notoriety by identifying Valerie Plame as a CIA operative, said The Washington Post. Plame’s husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, had “publicly claimed that the Bush White House had knowingly distorted intelligence that Iraq tried to obtain uranium from Africa.” Critics accused Novak of being “a pawn in a government retribution campaign against Wilson” by effectively ending Plame’s career with his disclosure. Novak disagreed, but acknowledged that the story would “forever be part of my public identity.” Novak, who converted to Catholicism in 1998, leaves a wife and two children.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
October 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Robert Redford: the Hollywood icon who founded the Sundance Film Festival
Feature Redford’s most lasting influence may have been as the man who ‘invigorated American independent cinema’ through Sundance
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacy
Feature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th-century clothing
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82
-
Sly Stone: The funk-rock visionary who became an addict and recluse
Feature Stone, an eccentric whose songs of uplift were tempered by darker themes of struggle and disillusionment, had a fall as steep as his rise
-
Mario Vargas Llosa: The novelist who lectured Latin America
Feature The Peruvian novelist wove tales of political corruption and moral compromise
-
Dame Maggie Smith: an intensely private national treasure
In the Spotlight Her mother told her she didn't have the looks to be an actor, but Smith went on to win awards and capture hearts