John Wilson Wins Breindel Award

Mayor Bloomberg Congratulates Former CI Editor

By: Kevin Vance

Posted: 10/14/07

On June 5, former Claremont Independent editor-in-chief John Wilson received the 2007 Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Journalism. The Breindel Award, named for the former editorial page editor of the New York Post, is the most prestigious prize in collegiate conservative journalism.

The Eric Breindel Memorial Foundation bestows the honor on writers who best reflect a love a country and bear witness to the evils of totalitarianism. News Corp. endows the award, which includes a $10,000 check for a collegiate winner and a $20,000 check for a professional.

Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, won the professional award. Boot delivered a lecture on military affairs at the Athenaeum last November.

Wilson's September 2006 CI article, "Finding Burke Among the Street Sleepers," was the winning piece. He traversed London with a homeless man and observed the horrendous effects of the welfare state on London's poor. Wilson spent the summer before his senior year working with immigrants at an inner-city church in London.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, and Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes joined Wilson and Boot on stage to present the award at the New York Historical Society. "It was pretty cool," said Wilson.

Other dignitaries included former ASCMC President Greg Gallagher, a college roommate of Wilson, and three former CI editors who traveled north from the nation's capital.

Wilson, a Connecticut native, graduated with honors last May with a degree in government. His senior thesis on the role of imperialism in Winston Churchill's political thought earned the award for best government thesis.

Wilson's interest in journalism began during his freshman year at CMC. His first CI article, "Anger, Delusion, and Idolatry: An Evening With Michael Moore," was a review of Michael Moore's Claremont speech for the November 2003 issue.

Wilson learned a lot from then-editor Apollo Morgan and Dorothy Lam (now Mrs. Morgan). "What I'll always be grateful to Apollo for is taking the time to tell the story of the colleges and what kind of things the CI had been involved in," he said.

In addition to his duties with the CI, Wilson wrote for the now-defunct Claremont Political Journal and the Claremont Portside during its libelous first year. He penned the "Port Starboard" column during the 2003-2004 academic year.

When Wilson was not busy writing editorials or news pieces, he was having a blast working on the CI's back page. During his sophomore year, he wrote a back page parodying the college's handling of the Kerri Dunn incident and diversity issues in general with a story about an anti-girl hate crime at the Children's School.

Wilson's other favorite back page was a copy of a Student AIDS Awareness Committee/HEO flyer soliciting submissions for a genital art show at the Motley (Yes, this really happened). Instead of expressing himself with genital art, Wilson superimposed a very true statement about the CI on the flyer itself: "Boldly Keeping Our Pants On Since 1989."

Four years at CMC provided Wilson with opportunities and resources to learn how to write well. "I can certainly give all credit to [government professor] Jack Pitney and Misters Strunk and White for cutting away all the fluffy crap and being clear and direct and to the point," he said.

Wilson ascended to the role of editor-in-chief in January 2005. During his tenure, the CI took an editorial stance against the planned campus expansion beyond the initial step to 1100.

"I'm certainly very proud of what the CI has done in the four years I have been there," Wilson said. "I'm very proud that the CI has come to be the place people go to for CMC news, period, and a well-respected publication in that regard."

While in college, Wilson realized that his faith as a practicing Roman Catholic could mesh with his love for journalism. "With the CI I really came to see journalism as a vocation - if done well, an act of love," he said.

Wilson is only the second collegiate recipient of the Eric Breindel Award. Last year, Columbia student Matt Mireles won the award.

In addition to the $10,000 prize, Wilson had a choice between a six-week internship at Fox News or the New York Post. His interest in print journalism led him to the editorial page of the Post, which offered him a job as associate editorial page editor at the end of his internship.

He said he loves his new job, though he has had to adapt to an environment very different from the CI. "There's only so much space and so much time to say far too much - and it matters so much more," said Wilson.

In order to stay connected to Claremont, Wilson admitted ordering Churchill and Strauss from Amazon.com last week.