Barbara Feinman Todd

Barbara Feinman Todd is an American journalist, ghostwriter, and lecturer. She worked as a journalist at the The Washington Post. She was a lecturer at Georgetown University, the first director of undergraduate journalism, an associate dean at the university, and an emeritus professor of the practice.

Early life and education

Feinman was born about 1960.[1] She attended Occidental College[2] before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, where she obtained a degree in creative writing in 1982.[1][3]

Career

Feinman became a copy aide at The Washington Post.[1][3][4] In 1986, Feinman was working as a researcher for Bob Woodward for his book "Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981–1987".[4] Feinman also carried out research for Carl Bernstein's memoir "Loyalties" and also for Ben Bradlee's memoir.[1][5] Feinman ghostwrote memoirs for Hanan Ashrawi and Morry Taylor.[1] In 1994, she co-wrote "A Women's Place: The Freshmen Women who Changed the Face of Congress" with Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky.[4]

Feinman ghostwrote significant parts of Hillary Clinton's memoir "It Takes a Village".[1][6][7][8] In 1997, she was at the center of controversy about the book when the press found out she had not been given credit.[9]

Feinman became a lecturer at Georgetown University about 1992 teaching in the English department. She built up the university's journalism offerings from one course to a minor and a master's degree program.[10] Feinman would go on to become the first director of undergraduate journalism.[1][3]

In 2008, she was an Associate Dean.[11] Feinman was later appointed professor of the practice emeritus.[12]

In 2017, she published her own memoir, Pretend I’m Not Here.[1][7]

Critical reception

Of her memoir Pretend I'm not Here, USA Today said "this short engaging memoir... is worth reading and possibly a boon for hygiene. After you're done reading it, you want to take a shower."[7]

Hippocampus magazine said "Serious writers of nonfiction, essayists and biographers, deadline journalists and narrative historians, will derive benefit from this deftly written memoir of literary collaboration and political shenanigans inside the Beltway."[13]

Of the book, Book Reporter said "Feinman Todd offers authentic portraits that go beyond the carefully polished public personas that are the standard fare of the Washington publicity factory. At its heart, [it's] is a funny and forthcoming story of a young woman in a male-dominated world trying to find her own voice while eloquently speaking for others."[14]

Books

Author

  • Pretend I'm Not Here: How I Worked with Three Newspaper Icons, One Powerful First Lady, and Still Managed to Dig Myself Out of the Washington Swamp (William Morrow, 2017)[1][7][13][14]

Co-author

Ghostwriter

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Adler, Sarah Elizabeth (July 3, 2017). "Spirited Away: the Life of the Ghostwriter". Cal Alumni Association. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  2. ↑ Feinman Todd, Barbara (2017). "Prologue". Pretend I'm Not Here: How I Worked with Three Newspaper Icons, One Powerful First Lady, and Still Managed to Dig Myself Out of the Washington Swamp. William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins. ISBN 9780062445117. Retrieved 2026-05-02 – via Overdrive.
  3. 1 2 3 Hoyt, Clark (Apr 14, 2017). "Book World: Author claims 'betrayal' by Woodward". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Beaujon, Andrew (2017-02-06). "New Book Says Bob Woodward Burned Hillary Clinton's Ghostwriter". Washingtonian. Retrieved 2026-04-30.
  5. ↑ Canfield, Kevin (Feb 12, 2017). "Ghostwriter Tells Stories of Betrayal in Washington DC". The Kansas City Star. pp. 2D. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  6. 1 2 Miller, Laura (February 8, 2017). "The Memoirs of Hillary Clinton's Ghostwriter Are a Dispatch from a Bygone Age in D.C." Slate Magazine.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Locker, Ray (9 Feb 2017). "Ghostwriting for Washington's Powerful is a Game of Brittle Egos". Life. USA Today. pp. 4D. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  8. ↑ Farhi, Paul (2014-06-28). "Ghostwriters left on the shelf after bringing political memoirs to book". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-04-30.
  9. ↑ Weeks, Linton (1996-01-12), "Mrs. Clinton's Book: A Ghost Story? The Flap Over Who Wrote Village", The Washington Post, retrieved 2026-05-08
  10. ↑ Delles, Lynn (2017-03-27). "The Ghost Professor: Feinman Todd Releases Memoir". College of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2026-05-01. From a small office in the New North building, jam-packed with books on all kinds of writing, Barbara Feinman Todd has spent a quarter-century building up journalism education at Georgetown. She led the long crusade to develop a lonely English elective into an impressive investigate journalism project, a master's program, and eventually an undergraduate minor. For a certain, small segment of the student population, she's as much a Georgetown institution as the John Carroll statue.
  11. ↑ Kinzie, Susan (Dec 18, 2008). "Georgetown Student in Pearl Project Sue CIA". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. pp. A4. Retrieved 1 May 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Emeritus Faculty, Department of English". Georgetown University. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  13. 1 2 Lennon, J. Michael (2017-03-01). "REVIEW: Pretend I'm Not Here: How I Worked with Three Newspaper Icons, One First Lady, and Still Managed to Dig Myself Out of the Washington Swamp by Barbara Feinman Todd". Hippocampus Magazine. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
  14. 1 2 Pretend I'm Not Here: How I Worked with Three Newspaper Icons, One Powerful First Lady, and Still Managed to Dig Myself Out of the Washington Swamp (Book Review). Book Reporter.
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