Goldberg grew up in
Ann Arbor, Michigan to a Jewish family, and fell in love with journalism when in the eighth grade she wrote a paper entitled "Opportunities in Journalism."[5] Goldberg thinks her career success began as a 20-year-old at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, when she was hired from an 8-week internship into full-time job as a reporter.[6] To take the job at the paper Goldberg dropped out of college.[7] Goldberg eventually graduated from
Michigan State University in 1987 with a
BA in journalism.[8] She has since established the Susan Goldberg Scholarship.[9] She is a member of the Alumni board of directors in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences.[8] In 2015 Goldberg returned to
Michigan State to deliver the commencement speech.[10]
Career
Goldberg moved to Michigan's Detroit Free Press, where she became the first woman to be sent to
Lansing, the state capital, where she covered the governor and legislature.[5] She simultaneously finished her degree at
Michigan State University.[11][6] She then moved to California's San Jose Mercury News, as a reporter, where she played a key role in the paper's coverage of the
Loma Prieta earthquake, which went on to win a
Pulitzer Prize.[12][13] In 1989 she joined USA Today and, over ten years, worked across News, Life and Enterprise.[14] Goldberg moved up the ranks at USA Today and eventually became deputy managing editor.[15]
After 11 years of marriage, Goldberg's first husband died in 1999.[16] She returned to the San Jose Mercury News to become managing editor.[5][16] In 2007 she resigned to join
Cleveland's The Plain Dealer.[12][17] When Goldberg left The Plain Dealer, she was upset: "in a short time, I have become deeply attached to
Cleveland".[18]
In 2010 she was approached by Bloomberg, and what began as a West Coast job resulted in becoming executive editor of Bloomberg's Washington Bureau.[5][19] Of her editorial leadership,
Frank Bass said that in her leadership, "Goldberg proved that patience and enthusiasm aren't mutually exclusive traits."[20] During 2012 and 2013 Goldberg was president of the
American Society of News Editors, with a focus on developing young leaders in journalism.[21] Goldberg was voted one of Washington's 11 most influential women in the media by
Washingtonian magazine in 2013.[22][23]
Goldberg's tenure as editor in chief of National Geographic ended in 2022,[24] after which she took up a position as professor and vice dean at
Arizona State University’s
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.[25] In December 2022, she was named president and CEO of WGBH, replacing
Jon Abbot as the first woman to lead the foundation.[2]
In January 2017 the National Geographic published an issue that explored gender issues, "Gender Revolution."[33] The edition was shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize, for "a deep and sensitive exploration of gender worldwide, using remarkable photography, moving video and clear writing to illuminate a subject that is at once familiar and misunderstood."[34] It received considerable media attention, prompting many comments from readers, which Goldberg responded to.[35][36] In 2018 "Gender Revolution" won the Best News and Politics and Best Cover Readers' Choice awards in the
ASME Cover Contest.[37]
^
abTrickey, Erick (February 25, 2008).
"Front Page News". Cleveland Magazine.
Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
^
abc"Susan Goldberg". National Geographic Partners Press Room. May 2, 2014.
Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
^Associates, Richard Attias &.
"Global Positive Forum". globalpositiveforum.org.
Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.