About Frank S. Washington
Frank Washington’s career in journalism and communications spans several decades. It has afforded him a unique perspective on media relations, public relations, event planning, and publishing, the World Wide Web, editing and reporting.
He has written articles for Advertising Age, Ebony, www.ebonyjet.com, Fortune, Newsweek, Newsweek Japan, The New York Times, and Time magazine. Frank has also spent a great deal of time covering the auto industry for African Americans On Wheels, Auto Executive, Automotive News, Automotive News Marketer, Savoy, Ward’s Auto World, Ward’s Automotive Reports, Ward’s Dealer Business magazines as well as the Detroit News Online and the Detroit News.
In 1996, Frank was honored by the Detroit Press Foundation for his article, “The Underground Work Force,” which was published by Ward’s Auto World. In 1995, he received the International Wheel Award from the Detroit Press Club Foundation for his story, “The Big Three Strike Back,” which was published by Newsweek Japan. That award was received in the wake of his 1993 Golden Wheel Award for “The Hardest Sell,” which was published in Newsweek. Most recently Frank’s Ebony magazine article about the demise of the auto industry was lauded by the Columbia Journalism Review: http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/ebony_on_the_fall_of_detroit.php.
Frank became Newsweek magazine’s Detroit bureau chief in August 1989, after serving as the Detroit correspondent for one year. In addition to automotive journalism, Frank reported on the 1992 Democratic presidential primary. He was also sent to South Central Los Angeles to report on the civil disturbance there for Newsweek’s cover story, “Fire and Fury,” as well as Newsweek’s follow up story, “Rethinking Race and Crime in America.” The story was one of the entries for which Newsweek won a National Magazine Award. The article was also honored with a First Place award from the National Association of Black Journalists for outstanding coverage of the black condition.
While leading Newsweek’s coverage of the auto industry, Frank wrote several articles on the then Big 3’s ongoing competition with Japanese automakers, including an interview with Lee Iacocca for the Newsweek’s cover story: “What Japan Thinks of Us.” (The most recent events of 2008 and 2009 suggest that the Big 3 lost the competition).
Presently Frank is managing partner/editor of www.AboutThatCar.com and http://www.aboutthatcarblog.com/ . He also writes a syndicated product review column of the same name that is distributed nationally to African American Newspapers.
Frank has produced segments for ABC’s Good Morning America and the Mutual Broadcasting (Radio) Network. And he has appeared as a commentator on NBC’s The Today Show, the MBC Network, and Newsweek on Air as well as numerous radio shows including The Tom Joyner Morning Show.
His responsibilities have included that of editor-in-chief, editor-at-large, managing editor, advertising and marketing editor, bureau chief, correspondent, staff writer, reporter, producer and contributing editor.
In addition to heading AboutThatCar.com, Inc., Frank is working on a book proposal about blacks in the auto industry.