When the Story Hits Home: Investigative Journalist Craig Whitlock and Where He is Today

Before he was uncovering secrets about wars abroad or issues of national security, Craig

Whitlock was just another high school student living in quiet Kennett Square. When he attended Unionville, the district only had one traffic light, placed at the intersection of Route 82 and Route 926. His upbringing, he says, still informs how he writes and reports. Whether he is covering an issue of national security or investigating an international conflict, Craig often asks himself the following question: “How could I explain the event to someone back in Kennett Square, who is interested in the world and what is going on, but does not have firsthand experience with these events?”

Storytelling allowed him to make distant events meaningful to neighbors back home. Learning to write for an audience that valued clarity and honesty, Craig went on to author the #1 New York Times bestselling book, “The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War.” It was his triumph in uncovering the Afghanistan Papers, a cache of confidential documents revealing that U.S. officials had misled the public about the progress of the war in Afghanistan, that earned Craig the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Yet, despite the prestige and public accolades that accompanied this award, Craig emphasizes not the honors he has received or the headlines he has made, but the lasting impact of his work. Whitlock expressed, “If you can go back years later and say, ‘Oh, I was so proud of that story’ or, ‘That story is still relevant today,’ that is particularly rewarding. I wrote a book called the Afghanistan Papers, and even today, many still read it. When you do a story like that, not only did I get it right, but it is still relevant and has lasting value.” 

For Craig, the most rewarding aspect of journalism is creating a story that has the capacity to inform the public long after the twenty-four-hour news cycle has passed. When asked the question, “What do you think is the importance of investigative journalism?” Craig responded, “Investigative journalism, by definition, is telling people something they do not know but also something that, by definition, somebody wants to keep secret. To me, that is one of the most consequential and noble callings of journalism: society depends on investigative journalists to tell them things that not only they don’t know, but they should know.” 

However, Craig has not only recently begun serving as an independent voice, but has been looking out for public interest since his youth. In an interview, Craig recounted, “I am really lucky that I have essentially been able to make a career out of something that I did as an extracurricular activity. I didn’t know in high school that I would be a professional reporter, but it was always in the back of my mind as something that could be interesting. When I went to college, I got involved with the school paper there, just as I had with the Unionville paper. That is really when I got hooked. The more I kept doing it, the more I wanted to keep doing it.” 

Currently, Craig works on an investigations desk where he primarily covers national security subjects. In the past several months, Whitlock has done extensive work regarding issues at the V.A. Many of his projects at the Washington Post are long-term, and he reports that being able to immerse himself deep in a story that can take a lot of time to uncover is a great luxury. Given that he has spent lots of his career uncovering scandals and exposing corruption, it is easy to assume that anyone in Craig’s position would become a cynical person. However, when asked whether the subject matter he reports on can negatively impact his worldview, Craig responded, "Journalism makes you more curious about what’s going on in the world. It makes you want to know more about how things work. To me, being a foreign correspondent and covering national security really gives you a window into the world and really enhances your interest in things. 

I have been really fortunate to have these experiences and to report around the world,” reflecting that he remains an optimist. Whether it was in Unionville’s Post room, or at the desk of the Washington Post, Craig Whitlock has carried a devotion to understanding the world around him, a sentiment best captured by his own words, “To me, it’s the greatest job in the world because you have the license to go and figure out what’s happening and go try and understand the world around you. I can never get enough of it.”