Tom Junod
Tom Junod | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Junod in 2019 | |
| Born | Thomas Christopher Junod April 9, 1958 Wantagh, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University at Albany, SUNY (BA) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Spouse | Janet Folk |
| Children | 1 |
Thomas Christopher Junod (born April 9, 1958) is an American journalist who is currently a senior writer for ESPN.com.[1] He is the recipient of two National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors.[2]
Early life
[edit]Thomas Christopher Junod was born as the youngest child of Lou and Fran Junod.[3]: 12–13 His family was of French, German, and Swiss ancestry.[3]: 195, 290 His father Lou often traveled for his job selling handbags. Junod has written about Lou's secret affairs in his 2026 memoir, In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means To Be a Man.[4]
Junod attended Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, graduating in 1976.[3]: 124, 131, 133 In 1980, Junod graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the State University of New York at Albany.[5]
Career
[edit]Junod worked as a writer for Esquire magazine beginning in 1997, after following editor David Granger to the magazine from GQ. He also worked for Atlanta magazine, Life, and Sports Illustrated. Junod has published award-winning pieces for several magazines. Among his notable works are The Abortionist, The Rapist Says He's Sorry,[6] The Falling Man[7] and a controversial 2001 piece on R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe, in which he satirically fabricated information for an interview that never happened.[8] As of November 2019, he is a writer for ESPN.com. In 2022, Junod and Paula Lavigne published a story that uncovered the crimes of Penn State football player Todd Hodne in the 1970s.[9]
Junod is also noted for his Esquire profile of Fred Rogers.[10] Junod has stated that his encounter with Rogers changed his perspective on life.[11] The event is the premise of the 2019 feature film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Junod also appeared in the critically acclaimed 2018 documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?.[12]
Among his controversial articles, Junod came to regret the tone of his 1997 profile of Kevin Spacey for Esquire that "more or less outed the actor". At the time Spacey described the profile as "mean-spirited" and "homophobic" and called for a boycott of both the author and publication. "That story had the reek of bad faith to it, to be quite honest with you," Junod admitted when interviewed by Atlanta Magazine in 2019, noting that the negative response to his Kevin Spacey profile had stalled his career prior to his 1998 Fred Rogers assignment.[11]
Private life
[edit]Junod is married to Janet (née Folk) Junod. The couple met in university.[13]
Awards
[edit]Junod is the recipient of two National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors; one for a profile of John Britton, an abortion doctor,[14] and one for a profile of a rapist undergoing therapy while enduring what is known as "civil commitment." Two other pieces by him were finalists for the same award.[15]
In 2011, Junod won the James Beard Award for his essay "My Mom Couldn't Cook", published in Esquire in September 2010.[16]
Bibliography
[edit]- Junod, Tom (2026). In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man. Doubleday. ISBN 9780375400391.
References
[edit]- ↑ "Tom Junod". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
- ↑ Carlson, Peter (June 26, 2007). "Bringing Out the Worst In Celebrity Coverage?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Junod, Tom (2026). In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means To Be a Man: A Memoir. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-375-40039-1.
- ↑ Dyer, Candice (March 10, 2026). "In his memoir, Tom Junod excavates the family secrets that made him who he is today". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
- ↑ Shepherd, Steven L. (2001). Our fathers: reflections by sons. Beacon Press. p. 248. ISBN 0-8070-6246-4.
- ↑ Junod, Tom (December 1995). "The Rapist Says He's Sorry". GQ. Archived from the original on September 5, 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- ↑ Junod, Tom (2003). "The Falling Man". Esquire.
- ↑ "Writer Comes Clean On Fake Stipe Profile". Billboard. May 25, 2001. Archived from the original on June 8, 2001. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
- ↑ Junod, Tom; Lavigne, Paula (April 11, 2022). "Untold: Before Jerry Sandusky, Penn State football had another serial sexual predator". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
- ↑ Junod, Tom (April 6, 2017). "Can You Say...Hero?". esquire.com. Esquire Magazine. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- 1 2 Van Atten, Suzanne (November 18, 2019). "How Mister Rogers changed the life of Atlanta writer Tom Junod". AtlantaMagazine.com. Atlanta Magazine. Archived from the original on November 19, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
- ↑ "Mr. Rogers doc 'Wont You Be My Neighbor?' feels right for our less-than-neighborly times". CNN. June 8, 2018.
- ↑ Dyer, Candice (March 10, 2026). "In his memoir, Tom Junod excavates the family secrets that made him who he is today". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
- ↑ Junod, Tom (February 1994). "The Abortionist". GQ.
- ↑ Fennell, John (2009). "The Missouri Association of Publications 5th Anniversary Publishing Summit Will Be Held March 5 and 6 in Columbia". University of Missouri Journalism School. Archived from the original on May 10, 2010.
- ↑ Junod, Tom (2010). "My Mom Couldn't Cook". Esquire.
External links
[edit]- Interview with Tom Junod on NPR's All Things Considered
- Junod's The Falling Man feature in Esquire
- Junod's Can You Say...Hero? profile in Esquire
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 20th-century American male journalists
- Life (magazine) photojournalists
- American magazine staff writers
- University at Albany alumni
- 1958 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American journalists
- 21st-century American journalists
- GQ (magazine)
- Sports Illustrated photojournalists
- Esquire (magazine) people
- ESPN people
- 21st-century American male journalists
- People from Wantagh, New York
- Journalists from New York (state)
- American people of French descent
- American people of German descent
- American people of Swiss descent