R.B. Brenner teaches journalism at Stanford University. From fall 2014 to spring 2018, he was a professor and the journalism school director at the University of Texas at Austin. Before then, he was a lecturer in the Stanford Journalism Program, starting in 2010, and served as the program’s deputy director.
R.B.’s teaching is informed by his three-decade career as a reporter and editor. He held several editing positions at The Washington Post, including Sunday Editor, Metro Editor and Maryland Editor. He was one of the primary editors of The Post’s coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings, which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2008, and played a leadership role in merging the digital and print newsrooms.
A graduate of Oberlin College, R.B. began his reporting career in North Carolina and also worked at newspapers in California and Florida. He has been a consultant for two journalism-themed films: “The Post” (2017) and “State of Play” (2009).