Michael Shear is a White House correspondent for The New York Times and a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has reported on the presidencies of Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. With decades of experience traveling aboard Air Force One and covering world events from the front lines of American politics, Shear has built a career grounded in fairness, accuracy, and accountability. He is part of a tradition of political journalism that seeks to hold power to account, regardless of party affiliation, by remaining open to complexity and guided by facts rather than ideology.

Reflecting on his undergraduate experience, Shear credits Claremont McKenna College with shaping his approach to reporting. “I recall CMC being a place that required me to challenge my own assumptions, especially with students and professors who came from very different ideological backgrounds,” he says. “That’s one of the keys to good political journalism—to understand that there are many different perspectives that you might not immediately think about, but that will be revealed by more reporting. If you let yourself be open to that possibility, your reporting can lead you to a better, more complete understanding of your subject.” His career stands as an example of how critical thinking, intellectual humility, and a curiosity for diverse perspectives can shape impactful public work.