Leonard Pitts Jr. was born Oct. 11, 1957, in Orange County, CA, and entered the University of Southern California at the age of 15 under a special honors program. He graduated summa cum laude four year later with a degree in English.

Pitts was a stringer and then the editor of Soul, a pioneering national black entertainment tabloid His work aso appeared in The Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Oui, Musician, Billboard, Essence, TV Guide, Parenting and Reader's Digest. He currently is a columnist for The Herald.

Pitts also wrote for all-news radio stations KFWB and KNX in Los Angeles, was the co-creator and editor of Radioscope, a black entertainment radio newsmagazine, and wrote for Casey Kasem's Top 40. He did radio special events, including: Blond Ambition: The Madonna Story; King: From Atlanta To the Mountaintop; Who We are: The Life and Times of Black America; Roots, Rock & Rhythm and Young Black Men: A Lost Generation?, a Mutual News documentary.

He received a first place CEBA award for Who We Are; a second place CEBA for King; and Angel award for a KFWB series, "Success"; the Armstrong award for Young Black Men and two International Radio Festival awards for Casey's Top 40 and Young Black Men.

In April 1991, Pitts joined The Miami Herald as its pop music critic and won an award from the American Society of Sunday and Feature Editors and three National Headliner awards. In 1994, he became a general columnist for The Herald and Knight Ridder News Service. In 1993, Pitts was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in commentary and won the Green Eyeshade Award and the NJBJ Award of Excellence. In 1997 and in 1999, he won second place for serious commentary in the Green Eyeshade. In 2000, Pitts won the ASNE award for commentary.