Emil Steiner

Emil Gregory Steiner (born November 30, 1978) is an American novelist, journalist, and media scholar studying binge-watching at Temple University's School of Media and Communication where he also teaches journalism. Prior to entering the academy, Steiner was the founding editor of The League -- washingtonpost.com's NFL discussion platform. He also served as the offbeat news blogger for The Washington Post and as a contributor to MSNBC, Washington Post Radio, NPR, CNN, WPHT, and the BBC. He was a member of the newsroom awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for its coverage of the Virginia Tech Massacre.

Steiner is an American, and a descendant of Holocaust survivors, born in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Friends' Central School, in Wynnewood, and the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating in 2001, he worked as a journalist in Prague, Czech Republic. His first novel, Drunk Driving was published in April, 2005.

Steiner made international news in June 2007 with his live-blogging of Pearson v. Chung, the $54 million pants lawsuit. The case involved DC Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearson suing his dry cleaner for $54 million under the DC consumer protection act after they lost his pants. Steiner's exclusive live-blogging coverage provided the only up-to-the minute reporting from inside the Washington, DC Superior Courthouse.

In October 2007, Steiner published a column “Cry Me a River Ellen Degeneres”. Steiner pointed out that the talk show host’s tears for her dog Iggy may in fact have been damage control.

On November 6, 2007, Washington Post columnist Emil Steiner in his OFF/beat blog reported on the emerging menace/hoax of Jenkem an African drug made from the fumes of raw sewage. In his article "Jenkem Madness?" he cited "a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration [who] insists that 'there are people in America trying [Jenkem].'" The unnamed DEA spokesman stated that the agency had yet to test Jenkem, however volunteering a theory that "hallucinations from methane fumes" are involved. He also labeled any use of Jenkem "dangerous, bad and stupid."

In May 2008, Steiner moved his OFF/beat blog from washingtonpost.com to the online tabloid expressnightout.com. He received a Master of Journalism degree from Temple University in 2011, where he now studies the rituals, motives, and feelings of binge-watchers.