Mel LaytnerMel Laytner was a reporter and editor of hard news for more than twenty years, primarily covering the Middle East for NBC News and United Press International. After seven grinding years overseas, he won a prestigious Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Econmic and Business Journalism, which included a year's residency at the Columbia Graduate School of Business. He received his BA in political science at the City College of New York and master's degrees from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism (with a concentration in broadcast news) and Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (with a specialization in foreign policy analysis). Mel and his wife, an artist and teacher, live in New York City and are the proud parents of three daughters. Read More Read Less