Tom Shales (born November 3, 1944) is an American critic of television programming and operations. Born in Elgin, Illinois, he has written for the Washington Post newspaper for several decades. He is generally credited for popularizing the idea of treating TV as seriously as theater or film from a critic's point of view.
Shales's first job was with radio station WRMN, in Elgin, at the age of 18. He filled the station's AM and FM airwaves as disc jockey, local news reporter, writer and announcer. He later worked with Voice of America as a producer of broadcasts to the Far East.
Shales graduated from American University. He was Editor-In-Chief of the student newspaper, The Eagle, for the 1966-1967 academic year , and appointed himself movie critic. He was Entertainment Editor at the Washington Examiner from 1968-1971. He joined The Washington Post as a writer in the Style section in 1972, was named chief television critic in July 1977, and was appointed TV Editor in June 1979. The Washington Post Writers Group has syndicated his column since 1979.
During 1998-1999, Shales was a frequent film critic for Morning Edition on National Public Radio. He was twice a guest co-host on the television show Roger Ebert & the Movies after the death of Gene Siskel.
His books include Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live (2002, co-authored with James Andrew Miller) about the peak and valley history and behind the scenes conflicts of NBC's long-running sketch comedy show, On the Air! and Legends: Remembering America's Greatest Stars.
Shales won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1988 for work with the Washington Post.http://www.postwritersgroup.com/shales.htm
