Joseph Rago (January 6, 1983 – July 20, 2017) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning[2] American political writer,[3] best known for his work at The Wall Street Journal.[4]

Joseph Arthur Rago
Born(1983-01-06)January 6, 1983
DiedJuly 20, 2017(2017-07-20) (aged 34)
Alma materDartmouth College
Occupation(s)Journalist, columnist
Websitehttp://www.josephragomemorialfund.org/
Notes

Education

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Rago attended Falmouth High School in Falmouth, Massachusetts, where he was president of the National Honor Society. He graduated in 2001.[5]

Rago graduated with a degree in American history from Dartmouth College in 2005.[2] While there, he wrote for The Dartmouth Review, an independent conservative student newspaper, serving as its editor-in-chief in 2005, and on its board after his graduation.

Career

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Rago joined The Wall Street Journal in 2005 as an intern and rose from an assistant editor on the op-ed page to editorial writer to a member of the editorial board.[6] Rago was also a 2010 media fellow at the Stanford University Hoover Institution.[2]

Rago was known for being an outspoken critic of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In 2011, he captured the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for what the Pulitzer organization called his "well crafted, against-the-grain editorials challenging the health care reform advocated by President Obama."[7][8]

Death

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In July 2017, Rago was found dead at his East Village, Manhattan apartment; he was 34 years old.[9] In September 2017, New York City's medical examiner office released a statement confirming his cause of death to be sarcoidosis.[10][11]

References

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  1. ^ "Joseph A. Rago". West Falmouth, Massachusetts: Chapman, Cole, Gleason. Retrieved 2017-08-05. (obituary)
  2. ^ a b c "The 2011 Pulitzer Prize Winners Editorial Writing". The Pulitzer Prizes.
  3. ^ "WSJ". Wall Street Journal. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2017 – via online.wsj.com.
  4. ^ The Wall Street Journal
  5. ^ Paula Peters (June 10, 2001). "Seniors sail with mixed emotions". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  6. ^ "Wall Street Journal Editor, Critical of "Obamacare" Found Dead at 34". halturnerradioshow.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-26.
  7. ^ "The Journal Wins Editorial Pulitzer". Wall Street Journal. 19 April 2011.
  8. ^ Mitchell, Greg (April 19, 2011). "'WSJ' Pulitzer Winner Simply Blasted 'ObamaCare'". The Nation.
  9. ^ Ember, Sydney (21 July 2017). "Wall Street Journal Editorial Writer Is Found Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Joseph Rago: Cause of Death Released for Wall Street Journal Writer Found Dead in NYC". 12 September 2017.
  11. ^ Zolan Kanno-Youngs (12 September 2017). "Wall Street Journal's Joseph Rago Died of Natural Causes, Medical Examiner Says". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
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