Award-winning journalist Dirk Johnson is the Chicago bureau chief and a senior writer for Newsweek. He wrote for the New York Times for 16 years, covering many of the major national news events of the past two decades, including the shootings at Columbine High School, the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, and various national political races. Johnson is a five-time winner of the New York Times Publisher's Award and the author of Biting the Dust: The Wild Ride and Dark Romance of the Rodeo. He lives in Sycamore, Illinois.