James J. Kilpatrick has been reporter, editor, columnist, commentator, and an adjunct professor of journalism. He regards himself primarily as a writer who functions as a critic of ideas.

Kilpatrick began his professional career in 1941 as a reporter for the Richmond, Va., News Leader. In 1964 he began writing "A Conservative View." Over the next 28 years, he became the most widely syndicated political columnist in the country. In 1981 he took on a weekly column, "The Writer's Art," on the use and abuse of English. In 1992, he returned to the love of his public life, the U.S. Supreme Court, with a new column called "Covering the Courts." Upward of 200 newspapers have signed on.

Kilpatrick served for nine years as a debater on "60 Minutes." Over the years he has appeared on "Meet the Press," "Inside Washington," and other television programs. He has written or edited 11 books, including two dealing with the writer's art.