Tony Norman became an ICIJ board member in 2019.
He is an award-winning columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where he also serves as book review editor. Norman has been an adjunct journalism professor at Chatham University since 2002, though he is currently on leave to work on a book of essays about being black in Appalachia.
He began his journalism career at Calvin University where he studied political science and wrote for the student newspaper. In 1988, Norman was hired by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a clerk, and was promoted to staff writer a year later. His first beat was pop music/pop culture. In 1996, he became a general interest columnist specializing in race, culture, crime and politics.
Along the way, Norman won every local, regional and state award in Pennsylvania for his columns and essays. He's also won a few national awards, including first place in the National Society of Newspaper Columnists competition in 1999. He was also the subject of a glowing cover profile in "Editor & Publisher" that year. In 1999, Norman was named to the Post-Gazette's editorial board. He remained a member of the board until a month after Donald Trump's election in 2016.
In 2005, Norman was awarded a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship and took a sabbatical for a year. In addition to his twice weekly general interest column and twice a month business column, Norman took on the duties as the Post-Gazette's book editor in 2012.
He is also on the board of the International Free Expression Project and is currently serving as vice president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.