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.
Subscribe to 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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Will growth slow, or is the economy about to fall off a cliff?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Senate passes FAA bill with new consumer protections
Speed Read The legislation will require airlines to refund customers for flight delays
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pledged pro-oil policy to CEOs, asked for $1B
Speed Read The former president promised to reverse Biden's environmental regulations if elected
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Benjamin Zephaniah: trailblazing writer who 'took poetry everywhere'
Why Everyone's Talking About Remembering the 'radical' wordsmith's 'wit and sense of mischief'
By The Week UK Published
-
Shane MacGowan: the unruly former punk with a literary soul
Why Everyone's Talking About The Pogues frontman died aged 65
By The Week UK Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published
-
Martin Amis: literary wunderkind who ‘blazed like a rocket’
feature Famed author, essayist and screenwriter died this week aged 73
By The Week Staff Published
-
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, is dead at 84
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Barry Humphries obituary: cerebral satirist who created Dame Edna Everage
feature Actor and comedian was best known as the monstrous Melbourne housewife and Sir Les Patterson
By The Week Staff Published
-
Mary Quant obituary: pioneering designer who created the 1960s look
feature One of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century remembered as the mother of the miniskirt
By The Week Staff Published