David Binder (journalist)

David Binder
David Binder
Born (1931-02-22) February 22, 1931
London, England
Residence Bonn, Germany, Chevy Chase, Maryland & Evanston, Illinois
Nationality American
Education Harvard University, A.B.(cum laude), 1953; University of Cologne, Graduate Study (Fulbright Scholar), 1953–1954
Occupation Journalist, author and lecturer
Home town Highland Park, Illinois & Minneapolis, Minnesota
Spouse(s) Dr. Helga Wagner (1959–present)
Children Julia, Andrea, Alena
Parents
Family Carroll "Ted" Binder, Jr., Mary "Sis" Kelsey (nee Binder) Mikkelson and Deborah Binder (siblings)

David Binder (born February 22, 1931) is an American journalist, author and lecturer. He resides in Evanston, Illinois after spending most of his adult life in Washington, D.C., Germany and Belgrade.

Early life and education

Binder was born on February 22, 1931 in London, England, along with his twin sister Deborah, to American parents Abner Carroll Binder, an American journalist best known for contributions as a newspaper correspondent and editor for the Chicago Daily News and the Minneapolis Tribune, and Dorothy (Walton) Binder. He had two other siblings.[1]

Binder was close to his older brother, Carroll Jr., who was later killed in action over France during World War II.[2] His brother's death — the subject of the book "One Crowded Hour: The Saga of An American Boy" by Jenane (Patterson) Binder[3][4] — led to his enrollment at a distant boarding school at the age of 13.[5]

Binder was raised in Highland Park, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago until the age of 13, when he left home to attend George School,[6] a Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Harvard University in 1953, before attending the University of Cologne for graduate study on a Fulbright Scholarship. He worked as an assistant in American literature at the Salzburg Seminar in Austria in the summer of 1953.[7]

Career

Binder had worked as a reporter or an editor for Carbondale Free Press-Southern-Illinoisan (1951), Louisville Times (1954–1956), Institute of Current World Affairs in Germany (1957–1959), Daily Mail in London (1959–1960) and Minneapolis Tribune (1960–1961). In addition, he has also contributed to other publications including The Reporter, The Nation, The New Republic, Foreign Policy (published in Washington), Politika (a daily published in Belgrade), Vreme, (a weekly published in Belgrade) Weltwoche (Swiss weekly published in Zurich), der Spiegel, (a German weekly published in Hamburg) Stern, (a German magazine(published in Hamburg) Neues Deutschland, (a daily published in Berlin), Blaetter fuer deutsche und internationale Politik (published in Bonn) and The Wilson Quarterly (published in Washington). In 1970, he was elected president of the Verein der Auslaendischen Presse (Foreign Press Association) of Germany.

Binder was a journalist for the New York Times from 1961 to 2004,[8] reporting on topics regarding Eastern and Western Europe, Soviet Union, the United States, Cuba, Puerto Rico. He served as a foreign correspondent in Berlin in 1961 where he reported on the building of the Berlin wall.[9] He was based in Belgrade from 1963 to 1966, in Bonn and later Berlin, Germany from 1967 to 1973. During the latter period, he reported on the gradual rapprochement between East and West Germany, and on the Prague Spring of 1968. He then transferred to the Washington, D.C. bureau as a diplomatic correspondent, later serving as the bureau's assistant news editor, and again as a reporter.

Binder served on numerous occasions as a special correspondent for the New York Times, including reporting on the decline of the Soviet Bloc in 1987, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the end of the Communist regimes in the German Democratic Republic,[10] Romania, Albania and Yugoslavia in 1990-1992. In the 1990s, he traveled extensively in the Balkans to report on the wars that brought about the dissolution of Yugoslavia (1990-1995) and the post-Communist regimes in Bulgaria and Romania. He also reported on the unification of West and East Germany. In 2000 and 2001, he went back to the Balkans to report on the burgeoning sex trade and drug smuggling in the region for MSNBC.[11]

After his retirement from the New York Times, Binder continued to contribute to with his researched and detailed obituaries of political or cultural figures including Egon Bahr, John Keegan, Rauf Denktash, Christa Wolf, Judith Coplon, Werner Eberlein, Spike Milligan, Hildegard Knef, Stefan Heym, Budd Boetticher and Ruth Werner.[12] Binder was one of the contributors to the New York Times obituary of Zbigniew Brzezinski, a National Security Adviser for the Jimmy Carter administration, who died on May 26, 2017.[13]

Binder has given lectures at Columbia University ("A Correspondent Reflects on Serbia 1963 - 1990"),[14] the Wilson Center ("Combating Organized Crime in the Balkans"),[15] the Serbian American Museum St. Sava[16] and Indiana University and commented in articles published in various newspapers.

Binder has also appeared on a number of televised news segments including CNN "Insight - The Macedonia Flashpoint",T[17] C-SPAN "Kosovo Liberation Army",[18] C-SPAN "Situation in Kosovo",[19] C-SPAN "Bosnia: How Did We Get There?",[20] C-SPAN "U.S. Policy in the Balkans"[20] and C-SPAN "Are the Western Media Combatants in Bosnia?"[21]

Other publications and books

In 1989, Binder was appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board of the newly created Mediterranean Quarterly.[22] In its first issue, he published an article entitled "The End of the Bloc," stating that the Soviet Union's Eastern European empire was "falling apart before our eyes."

In November 2013, his book, "Fare Well Illyria,"[23] was published by the Central European University Press. Amazon.com described the book as "[a] comprehensive yet concise account of the cultural and political situation in the Balkans during the last three decades of the Cold War (1960-1990). Fare Well, Illyria sums up the author's thorough knowledge of the political and cultural history of the Balkans as well as his personal experience gained over four decades covering the region."[23]

During his tenure at the New York Times, Binder also published a number of lighthearted articles about his journalist father and his siblings and children.[24][25]

Permanent collection and archive

Binder's collection of personal notes, memoirs, books, articles, photographs and other work from more than 60 years as a journalist will be housed and made available to the public at the Newberry Library of Chicago, "an independent research library dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge, especially in the humanities".[26] The Newberry Library also houses the correspondence, writing, personal and family materials, and photographs of his father.[5] Binder's 2415 articles and other publications through the New York Times have also been archived and are accessible via the New York Times' Collection of David Binder.

Personal life

Binder married Dr. Helga Binder, née Wagner, a German physician whom he had met in East Berlin during his stint in Germany and who went on to become a pediatric physician at Children's Hospital National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.[27] They have three daughters.

Publications

Books

  • "Berlin: East and West in Pictures," 1963 ISBN 978-0806910185
  • "The Other German: Willy Brandt's Life and Times," 1976 ISBN 978-0915220090
  • "Children of a New Fatherland. Germany's Post-War Right-Wing Politics (Introduction)," 1999 ISBN 978-1860644580
  • Forward to "Media Cleansing, Dirty Reporting: Journalism and Tragedy in Yugoslavia," 2005 ISBN 978-1882383306
  • "Fare Well Illyria," 2013 ISBN 978-6155225741 [23]

Select articles

  • "An Editorial" on the history of terrorism in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 12, Number 4, Fall 2001, pp. v-viii[28]
  • "General Draža Mihailovich - Unsung World War Two Hero"[16]
  • "Serbian Icons from Bosnia-Herzegovina: Sixteenth to Eighteenth Century (review)" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 12, Number 4, Fall 2001, pp. 124–128[29]
  • "A Balkan Balance Sheet" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 11, Number 1, Winter 2000, pp. 49–5[30]
  • "Vlachs, A Peaceful Balkan People" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 15, Number 4, Fall 2004, pp. 115–124[31]
  • "Has 'Greater' Vanished from the Balkan Vocabulary? Fragmentation and Cohesion in Southeastern Europe" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 20, Number 3, Summer 2009, pp. 40–50[32]
  • "The Time of Epithets" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 19, Number 4, Fall 2008, pp. 81–90[33]
  • "Approaching Albania" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 19, Number 1, Winter 2008, pp. 63–79[34]
  • "The Euro-Atlantic Brand" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 21, Number 2, Spring 2010, pp. 12–17[35]
  • "The Waldheim Affair: Democracy Subverted (review)" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 13, Number 1, Winter 2002, pp. 109–113[36]
  • "Greece, Turkey, and NATO" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 23, Number 2, Spring 2012, pp. 95–106[37]
  • "Dangerous Citizens: The Greek Left and the Terror of the State (review)" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 22, Number 1, Winter 2011, pp. 117–120[38]
  • "Carla Del Ponte: Madame Prosecutor" in Serbian Studies: Journal of the North American Society for Serbian Studies, Volume 21, Number 1, 2007, pp. 135–142[39]
  • "A Tribute to Nikolaos A. Stavrou 1935–2011" in Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 23, Number 1, Winter 2012, pp. 1–4 with Lucien N. Nedzi, Matthew Nimetz, and Despina Skenderis-Fourniades[40]
  • "In the Middle of the Road" on the modern history of Serbia on April 12, 2008 [41]
  • "Beyond the pale : perspectives from the two Serbias" in Mediterranean quarterly, Volume 6, Number 2, Spring 1996, pp. 87–94[42]
  • "The Cowards of Kosovo," May 27, 2004[43]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?pid=177787011
  2. ↑ http://www.303rdbg.com/firstmission.html
  3. ↑ https://www.amazon.com/One-crowded-hour-saga-American/dp/B0007EJ32A
  4. ↑ https://i-share.carli.illinois.edu/nby/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=7&ti=1,7&Search_Arg=binder&SL=None&Search_Code=FT%2A&CNT=20&PID=VllXTYyKiQBRMMThCEfgrO&SEQ=20170518171521&SID=1
  5. 1 2 https://mms.newberry.org/xml/xml_files/Binder.xml
  6. ↑ , ed. "Chicago Park Tour Brings Alumni Together." George School: a Quaker, coeducational boarding and day school, grades nine through twelve.. N.p., 31 May 2010. Web. 20 May 2012. <http://www.georgeschool.org/NewsAndEvents/2010/Chicago%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D Park Tour Brings Alumni Together.asp&xgt;.
  7. ↑ "Harvard Crimson: Ten Participants Named to Attend Salzburg Seminar". Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "Recent and archived news articles by David Binder of The New York Times". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  9. ↑ Binder, David. "BERLIN WALL BECOMES A 'LIVING, GROWING THING'; East Germans Strengthen Barrier With Many New Fortifications 'Vopos' Surly on Patrol Duty." New York Times [New York City] 26 11 1961, 1st ed. E5. Print
  10. ↑ Adler, Ruth. A day in the life of. Reprint. Ayer Publishing, 1981. 14-15. Web. <https://books.google.com/books?id=a2BKdAQ1SKUC&pg=PA14&dq="david binder"washington editor&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nmPOT-GxIsXN6QGW25CIDA&ved=0CEAQ6AEwATgK
  11. ↑ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3071973/ns/us_news-only_on_msnbccom/#.WhXTrlWnFtQ
  12. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-binder
  13. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/us/zbigniew-brzezinski-dead-national-security-adviser-to-carter.html?_r=0
  14. ↑ http://ece.columbia.edu/serbian-studies
  15. ↑ https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/combating-organized-crime-the-balkans
  16. 1 2 http://www.generalmihailovich.com/2012/03/evening-with-new-york-times-journalist.html
  17. ↑ http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/12/i_ins.00.html
  18. ↑ http://www.aim.org/media-monitor/a-lesson-from-kosovo/
  19. ↑ https://www.c-span.org/video/?122136-1/situation-kosovo
  20. 1 2 https://www.c-span.org/person/?davidbinder
  21. ↑ https://www.c-span.org/video/?57622-1/western-media-combatants-bosnia
  22. ↑ Binder, David. "Approaching Albania". Mediterranean Quarterly. 19.1 (2008): 63–79. Web. 28 May 2012. <http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/mediterranean_quarterly/v019/19.1binder.html>.
  23. 1 2 3 https://www.amazon.com/Fare-Well-Illyria-David-Binder/dp/6155225745/ref=la_B001K82ZKE_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381673712&sr=1-1
  24. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/24/magazine/about-men-brotherhood-of-the-inept.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fdavid-binder
  25. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/11/garden/with-rent-a-dad-who-needs-movers.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fdavid-binder
  26. ↑ https://www.newberry.org/
  27. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=QQbyBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA245&lpg=PA245&dq=helga+binder+children+hospital+washington&source=bl&ots=HrHRB3x2qO&sig=rgz5OmDBhKxceuLOqAcLRihOUw8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjp1LaamLvUAhWFGD4KHdE6DVEQ6AEIMDAD#v=onepage&q=helga%20binder%20children%20hospital%20washington&f=false
  28. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/20849
  29. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/20850
  30. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/20772
  31. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/176889
  32. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/317559
  33. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/255627
  34. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/232387
  35. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/383586
  36. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/20861
  37. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/479382
  38. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/430049
  39. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/369264
  40. ↑ http://muse.jhu.edu/article/471588
  41. ↑ http://www.balkanalysis.com/
  42. ↑ http://www.worldcat.org/title/beyond-the-pale-perspectives-from-the-two-serbias/oclc/822336060
  43. ↑ http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/db052704.htm
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