Bernard ‘Bernie’ Kohn has previously emphasized one rule of storytelling that, in his opinion, remains unchanged: “You basically have four words in a headline to grab the attention of your readers.” His path into journalism began in 7th grade, and his trajectory included a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Ball State in 1982. While here, he also served as editor of the Ball State Daily News in 1981, and more recently, he was named an Outstanding Journalism Alumnus in 2007.
He’s been a speaker at seminars for the American Press Institute and the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, and he’s the former president of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW). He spent 30 years as a reporter or editor for newspapers, including the Tampa Tribune, the Charlotte Observer, the Washington Post, and the Baltimore Sun, where he led a Pulitzer-prize-finalist team in 2007 for stories chronicling abuses in Maryland’s centuries-old ground-rent laws.
Bernie joined Bloomberg News in 2010 as a regulation team leader and then became the news service’s first weekend managing editor before moving in 2019 to Bloomberg Industry Group, which provides specialized news and information for law, government and tax professionals.
Beyond his professional trajectory and accolades, Bernie has maintained a role in his community, serving as a mentor and volunteer camp leader at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy. He’s also been a mentor for FutureLink, a nonprofit program based in Rockville, Maryland, that links professional mentors with motivated community-college students who may be from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and often are the first member of their families to go to college. Others have described Bernie as “a creative and solid newsman with a strong sense of what makes a story interesting and an ability to avoid wasted time and effort.”
From another colleague: “He thinks big but also pays attention to small details. He doesn’t let you get away with using imprecise (and potentially problematic) words like “controversial” — and if that’s aggravating in the moment, you’ll thank him for it later.