Chris Hayes (journalist)

Early life

Hayes was born in Norwood, The Bronx, New York City, one of three sons of Roger, an Irish Catholic, and Geri Hayes, an Italian American. His father moved to New York from Chicago while studying at a Jesuit seminary, but began community organizing in the Bronx. Roger Hayes spent several years leading community organizing at the Community Service Society of New York and now works as an assistant commissioner for the NYC Department of Health. Hayes's mother was a school teacher and now works for the NYC Department of Education.

Hayes attended New York City's Hunter College High School, and then attended Brown University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and worked with student theater group Production Workshop. Hayes was raised Catholic.

Print

Beginning in August 2001, for four years Hayes was a contributor to the independent weekly newspaper Chicago Reader, where he covered local and national politics. In late 2003, he began a four-year stint at In These Times, a labor-focused monthly magazine based in Chicago, where he was a senior editor.

From 2005 to 2006, Hayes was a Schumann Center Writing Fellow at In These Times. From 2006 through 2007, Hayes was a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute, and a contributing writer for The Nation. On November 1, 2007, The Nation named him its Washington, D.C. editor, succeeding David Corn.

Hayes wrote extensively on issues central to the liberal community, including what ails the Democratic Party in the post-9/11 era and how the labor movement is changing. He also reported on progressive activists' work to resuscitate the "public option" during the 2009–2010 health care fight when many political insiders wrote it off as dead.

Hayes was an adjunct professor of English at St. Augustine College in Chicago and a Bernard L. Schwartz fellow at New America Foundation from 2008 to 2010.

Cable news

Hayes guest-hosted The Rachel Maddow Show in July 2010, while Maddow was traveling in Afghanistan and often filled in for Maddow when she was absent. Hayes has also hosted other MSNBC shows such as The Ed Show, Countdown With Keith Olbermann, and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell.

On November 5, 2010, MSNBC announced that Hayes would be filling in for Keith Olbermann during Olbermann's suspension. However, the network later backtracked after finding out that Hayes had also made political contributions—the issue over which Olbermann was being suspended.

Hayes credits Maddow with his becoming a host at MSNBC, saying, "I absolutely would not be doing this if it weren't for her."

Up with Chris Hayes

On August 1, 2011, MSNBC announced that Hayes would host a two-hour morning show on Saturdays and Sundays, each going into depth on current issues. The first airing of Up with Chris Hayes was September 17, 2011, and featured a live interview with former speaker and current House minority leader Nancy Pelosi.

On May 27, 2012, Memorial Day Weekend, Hayes made comments on air regarding the use of the word "heroism" as applied to American servicemen killed in action, stating, "I feel uncomfortable about the word because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war. And I don't want to obviously desecrate or disrespect the memory of anyone that's fallen, and obviously there are individual circumstances in which there is genuine, tremendous heroism, you know, hail of gunfire, rescuing fellow soldiers, and things like that. But it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic. But maybe I'm wrong about that." His remark generated widespread controversy. Hayes initially defended his comment by urging people to listen to what he had actually said, Nonetheless, he apologized on his blog. Furthermore, on his June 2, 2012, show, he devoted a discussion to his comments and the disconnect between civilians and the military.

All In with Chris Hayes

On March 14, 2013, MSNBC announced that Hayes would take over the time slot formerly hosted by Ed Schultz, who would move to the weekends. At 34 years old, he became the youngest host of a prime-time show on any of the country's major cable news channels.

According to The New York Times, the change was made in the hopes that MSNBC can win a wider audience than it did with Schultz. Hayes was said to transition better to The Rachel Maddow Show because he is seen as just as policy oriented as Maddow. "Chris has done an amazing job creating a franchise on weekend mornings," said Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC. "He's an extraordinary talent and has made a strong connection with our audience."

All In with Chris Hayes, Hayes's first prime-time show, premiered Monday, April 1, 2013.

Books

Hayes's first book, Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy was published by Crown Publishing Group in June 2012. A review in The Atlantic called it "provocative" and "thoughtful," but faulted its policy suggestions as less satisfying. Kirkus Reviews called it "forcefully written" and "provocative." Aaron Swartz described the book as "compellingly readable, impossibly erudite, and—most stunningly of all—correct."

Hayes' second book, A Colony in a Nation, was published by W. W. Norton in March 2017.

Book festivals

On June 15, 2017, it was announced that Hayes will be participating in the 11th annual Brooklyn Book Festival, (BKBF.)

In April 2017 he was a featured author at the L.A. Times Festival of Books, which took place at the campus of USC.

Personal life

Hayes is married to Kate Shaw, assistant professor of law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; his father-in-law is veteran Chicago reporter Andy Shaw. Hayes and Shaw resided in Washington, D.C., until they moved to New York City, where All in With Chris Hayes is produced. Their daughter, Ryan Elizabeth Shaw-Hayes, was born in November 2011. Their son, David Emanuel Shaw-Hayes, was born in March 2014.

Hayes' brother Luke worked on Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.