Марвин Оласки: Американ журналисінің өмірі мен қызметі

American journalist

Marvin Olasky (born June 12, 1950) is a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute and an affiliate scholar at the Acton Institute. He also chairs the Zenger House Foundation, serves as a Zenger Prize judge, and is the author of 29 books. From 1992 through 2021, he edited World.

Olasky was born in the city of Malden, Massachusetts, to a Russian Jewish family. He graduated from Newton High School (now Newton North High School) in 1968 and from Yale University in 1971 with a B. A. in American studies. In 1976, he earned his Ph. D. in American Culture at the University of Michigan. He became an atheist in adolescence and a Marxist in college, ultimately joining the Communist Party USA in 1972. Olasky married and divorced during this period and, according to Olasky, broke each of the Ten Commandments except "Thou shalt not kill". He left the Communist Party late in 1973 and, in 1976, became a Christian after reading the New Testament and several Christian authors. He joined World Magazine in 1990 and became its editor in 1994 and its editor in chief in 2001. Earlier, he was a reporter at the Boston Globe and a speechwriter at the Du Pont Company. Since 1996 he has been a ruling elder within the Presbyterian Church in America. Olasky has chaired the boards of the City School of Austin and the Austin Crisis Pregnancy Center. His writings have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Russian, and other languages, and he has lectured and given interviews around the world.

Olasky described World as a magazine that "tries to be salt, not sugar. We like to report good news but don't make it sticky sweet. We also report bad news because Christ’s grace becomes most meaningful when we're most aware of sin. We want to be tough minded but warmhearted." In practice, that meant criticizing liberal policies but also corporate welfare and supporting challenging, personal, and spiritual help to the poor. Olasky instituted a Daniel of the Year award for individuals who stood up to persecution. He furthered "compassionate conservatism" by creating Hope Awards for Effective Compassion, given to Christian organizations that helped people rise from poverty. World also became known for reporting flash points in Sudan, Iraq, and China. In 2007, Olasky gave up his tenured position at The University of Texas to try to keep alive a struggling Christian college in New York City. In 2014, The New York Times reported that "evangelical Protestant journalism is generally more public relations than reporting; World stands out as an exception. 'We're a Christian publication but not a movement organ,' Olasky said." That became even more evident in October 2016, after Donald Trump had consolidated his support among evangelicals. Olasky received about 1,500 critical letters when he wrote a cover story called Trump "unfit for power" and proposed that he step aside because "we set the stage for even worse behavior when we ignore blatant offenses." In 2019, Olasky wrote a book laying out his controversial journalistic philosophy and emphasis on God's objective sovereignty and man's liberty. He explained biblical objectivity through the use of a whitewater rapids analogy that he says will help Christians avoid overusing the Bible (claiming "God saith" when He has not) or underusing it (ignoring God's wisdom when it does not conform to our biases). He emphasized the importance of careful reporting rather than opinionating and noted that reporters do not have to be Christians to be biblically objective. In 2021, after World's editorial leader hired Al Mohler to edit the new World Opinions platform, Olasky resigned, as did WORLD Magazine's seven other senior editors and reporters. The entire non magazine editorial staff remained. In 2022, the Zenger House Foundation gave the first "Zenger Prizes" to eight journalists who emphasized "street level" reporting rather than "suite level" opining. Prize winners included writers for secular as well as Bible based publications. Olasky now writes a weekly column about homelessness. In 2019, The Gospel Coalition reported Olasky saying, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the streets declare the sinfulness of man.' Olasky expresses intense awareness of his own story of sin and Christ's glory. Olasky, writing in 2008 soon after he had double bypass surgery, said, 'Christ changed my life a third of a century ago. Every year since then has been a gift.

Olasky has been married since 1976 to writer Susan Olasky, and they have four sons and six grandchildren. His book Lament for a Father tells the story of his parents, grandparents, and early life. Olasky has served as a PTA president and a Little League Baseball assistant coach, and has partaken in cross country cycling.