David Rohde '90 is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times whose kidnapping by the Taliban and subsequent escape made international headlines last year.
Rohde joined the Times in 1996 and was named co-chief of the South Asia bureau in 2002. His work has primarily focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was kidnapped by the Taliban in November 2008 while reporting on the conflicts in those countries. After seven months in captivity, he escaped on June 19, 2009. The Times' reporting team, of which he was a member, won a Pulitzer in 2009 for its coverage on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Rohde was earlier awarded a Pulitzer for international reporting in 1996, for his coverage of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia-Herzegovina. His work for the Christian Science Monitor exposed the killing of 7,000 Muslims in the United Nations safe-zone of Srebrenica. Serbian authorities briefly detained him for his investigation of the mass graves. Rohde was freed after an international cohort of reporters campagined for his release. A 1990 graduate of Brown, Rohde transferred from Bates College at the beginning of his junior year. He received a Bachelor of Arts in History. He is married to fellow Brown alum Kristen Mulvihill '91.
Rohde's 1997 book "Endgame: The Betrayal and Fall of Srebrenica" discusses his experience in Bosnia. He authored a five-part series in 2009 for the Times addressing his kidnapping, captivity and escape. His forthcoming book "A Rope and A Prayer: The Story of a Kidnapping" will recount his time spent in captivity.
