Before joining The Oregonian in 1993, Doug Bates worked as assistant managing editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune , news editor of the Seattle Times , and managing editor of the Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon. Bates and colleague Rick Attig received the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 2006 for their 15-part series on deplorable conditions at the Oregon State Hospital.

The author of two books, Gift Children: A Story of Race, Family, and Adoption in a Divided America , and The Pulitzer Prize: The Inside Story of America's Most Prestigious Award , he was born in McMinnville, Oregon, grew up in Oakridge, Oregon, and graduated from the University of Oregon in 1968. He and his wife, Gloria, lived in Northeast Portland and had four grown children.

Listen to Bates describe his beat and his background.