Bob Herbert joined The New York Times as an Op-Ed columnist in 1993. His twice a week column covers politics, urban affairs and social trends.

Prior to joining The Times, Mr. Herbert was a national correspondent for NBC from 1991 to 1993, reporting regularly on “The Today Show” and “NBC Nightly News.” He had worked as a reporter and editor at The Daily News from 1976 until 1985, when he became a columnist and member of its editorial board.

In 1990, Mr. Herbert was a founding panelist of “Sunday Edition,” a weekly discussion program on WCBS-TV in New York, and the host of Hotline, a weekly issues program on New York public television.

He began his career as a reporter with The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., in 1970. He became its night city editor in 1973.

Mr. Herbert has won numerous awards, including the Meyer Berger Award for coverage of New York City and the American Society of Newspaper Editors award for distinguished newspaper writing. He was chairman of the Pulitzer Prize jury for spot news reporting in 1993.

Born in Brooklyn on March 7, 1945, Mr. Herbert received a B.S. degree in journalism from the State University of New York (Empire State College) in 1988. He has taught journalism at Brooklyn College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He lives in Manhattan on the Upper West Side.