Senior Editor at 'Reason' magazine

Robby Soave | Biography 2021

Supporter of civil rights and gender equality

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Update : July 20, 2021

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Robby Soave is an award-winning American journalist, best known for his commentary on Rolling Stone's fallacious article about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia.

Who is Robby Soave?

Robby Soave is serving as the Senior Editor at Reason magazine. He has penned on politics, education policy, criminal justice reform, cancel culture, among many others. He has won the 'Southern California Journalism Award' in 2015 for his commentary about an incredible article about sexual assault at the University of Virginia published by Rolling Stone magazine. He has also been named in 'Forbes 30 Under 30,' under the category 'Law and Policy' in 2016. Soave is also an author and published a book, 'Panic Attack: Young Radicals in the Age of Trump,' in June 2019.

Early Life and Education

Robby Soave was born on 8 August 1988 in the United States. Soave attended De La Salle Collegiate High School in Warren, Michigan, from 2002 to 2006. After graduating from high school in 2006, Soave moved to Ann Arbor for higher studies. In 2010, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and European History from the University of Michigan. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 2010 and Alexandria, Virginia, in 2012 before he settled in Washington D.C.

Career

Soave began his journalism career at The Michigan Daily in December 2008 as an Editorial Page Editor and worked there for one year. As a man with a libertarian political view, Soave joined the libertarian monthly magazine Reason, in May 2014, as an Associate Editor and made his way to Senior Editor. He has written commentaries and opinion pieces about politics, education policy, criminal justice reform, tech policy, cancel culture, among other issues. His expert articles have also been published in several publications, including The New York Times, The Daily Beast, USA Today, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report.

As a Senior Editor for Reason, Soave had appeared in multiple television shows, including The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Saturday Agenda, Fox and Friends, and Reliable Sources. He had also appeared as a panelist in several television shows, including S.E. Cupp Unfiltered, since 2017.

Awards and Recognitions

In 2015, Soave won the 'Southern California Journalism Award' for 'Best Online Non-Political Column/Commentary' for his commentary titled 'Is the UVA Rape Story a Gigantic Hoax?' In his commentary, Soave inquired about the accuracy of the University of Virginia rape story titled 'A Rape on Campus' published by Rolling Stone. He also claimed the story lacked proper journalistic investigation.

Soave, in his article, 'Is the UVA Rape Story a Gigiantic Hoax?', which appeared in Reason on January 2014, wrote, "For me, the lesson is clear: Rape is a serious crime, and not an academic infraction." About how a rape or sexual assault case should be treated and handled, he noted, "The best way to confront campus rape is to treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves and make violent crime the business of the normal criminal justice system." 

Soave also earned extensive recognition in 2019 for fixing another case of media malpractice that involved Covington Catholic High School students at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

In 2016, Soave was named 'Forbes 30 Under 30' under the category 'Law and Policy.' He also received a Novak Fellowship at The Fund for American Studies in 2017. 

The back story of 'A Rape on Campus' article

The Rolling Stone article titled 'A Rape on Campus' featured a story of a University of Virginia (UVA) student Jackie, who claimed to be gang-raped at the fraternity house of the university. The article also accused the institution of ignoring and mishandling sexual assault victims and the issues. Written by Sabrina Rubin Erdely, the article was originally published in November 2014. It was then withdrawn in April 2015, after Jackie's story was found out to be false after a police investigation. The UVA filed a defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone, and the magazine settled the lawsuit by agreeing to pay $1.65 million.

Book: 'Panic Attack: Young Radicals in the Age of Trump'

On 18 June 2019, Soave's first book 'Panic Attack: Young Radicals in the Age of Trump' was published by Points Books. In his book, Soave divulged the people behind the violent protests that occurred after the 2016 election by profiling the young radicals involved in such protests. He also explored the reason behind millennial activism that rose in Donald Trump's tenure by interviewing the youngsters with a humble and healthy skepticism.

Personal Life

Soave married Carrie Soave on 3 October 2014. Soave is also a supporter of civil rights and gender equality. He also serves on the D.C. Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.