Laura Flanders

Laura Flanders
Flanders on New York street
Born	(1961-12-05) December 5, 1961 London, England
Occupation	Journalist Author, Broadcaster
Known for	journalism
Partner(s)	Elizabeth Streb
Parent(s)	Michael Flanders and Claudia Cockburn
Relatives	Stephanie Flanders (sister) Olivia Wilde (half-cousin) Alexander Cockburn (half-uncle) Andrew Cockburn (half-uncle) Patrick Cockburn (half-uncle) Sarah Caudwell (half-aunt) Leslie Cockburn (half-aunt by marriage) Claud Cockburn (grandfather)
Website	Flanders' website

Laura Flanders (born December 5, 1961) is an English broadcast journalist living in the United States, who presents the weekly, long-form interview show The Laura Flanders Show.

Life and career

Flanders is the daughter of the British comic songwriter and broadcaster Michael Flanders and the American-born Claudia Cockburn, first daughter of well-known radical journalist Claud Cockburn and American author Hope Hale Davis. She grew up in the Kensington district of London and moved to the U.S. in 1980 at age 19. She graduated from Barnard College in 1985 with a degree in history and women's studies.

Flanders was founding director of the women's desk at the media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), and for a decade produced and hosted CounterSpin, FAIR's syndicated radio program. In January 1993, she appeared on the ABC "Good Morning America" program as a spokesperson for FAIR to discuss how domestic violence increases during the annual Super Bowl.

Flanders hosted the weekday radio show Your Call on KALW, before starting the Saturday/Sunday evening Laura Flanders Show on Air America Radio in 2004. It became the weekly one-hour Radio Nation in 2007, and a daily TV show on Free Speech TV, "GRITtv with Laura Flanders" in 2008. That show aired for three years on Free Speech TV before moving to KCET/Linktv and teleSUR, as a weekly program.

Flanders is a contributing writer for The Nation, and Yes Magazine and has also contributed to In These Times, The Progressive and Ms. Magazine.

Flanders has published several books: Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians (Penguin Press 2007); Bushwomen: Tales of a Cynical Species (Verso, 2004), a study of the women in George W. Bush's cabinet; and a collection of essays, Real Majority, Media Minority: The Cost of Sidelining Women in Reporting (1997). She edited "At The Tea Party...." (O/R Books 2010) and The W Effect: Sexual Politics in the Age of Bush (2004) and contributed to "The Contenders," (Seven Stories, 2008) among others.

Her TV appearances include Melissa Harris Perry, All In with Chris Hayes, Lou Dobbs Tonight, The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity and Colmes, Washington Journal, Donahue, Good Morning America, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Ed Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation TV news discussion program CounterSpin (not to be confused with the FAIR show of the same name).

GRITtv

GRITtv is a weekly, 25 minute interview-style show featuring one in-depth interview with authors and thought leaders, including investigative reports, and a commentary by Flanders called "The F Word".

Flanders has described herself as a "lefty person." The brothers Alexander, Andrew and Patrick Cockburn—all journalists—are her half uncles. Award-winning American author Lydia Davis is her half-aunt. Her sister is Stephanie Flanders, a former BBC journalist.

External links

• Flanders' website
• GRITtv