Michael Thomas Kelly (March 17, 1957 – April 4, 2003) was an American journalist for The New York Times, a columnist for The Washington Post and The New Yorker, and a magazine editor for The New Republic, National Journal, and The Atlantic.

[2][3][4] During a journalism career that spanned 20 years, Kelly received a number of professional awards for his book on the Gulf War and his articles, as well as for his magazine editing.

[5][3][9] Kelly's first media job was booking guests for ABC News and its Good Morning America television program.

[6] He was a newspaper journalist for The Cincinnati Post (1983–1986), The Baltimore Sun (1986–1989) and later, after writing freelance and reporting in the first Gulf War, he worked for The New York Times (1992–1994).

[3] At that point in his career, Kelly had worked with editors such as Hendrik Hertzberg at The New Republic, Robert Vare at The New York Times Magazine and Tina Brown at The New Yorker.

[9][10] In 1996, Kelly became the editor of The New Republic, where his protectiveness of his staffers, along with the criticisms he leveled against publisher Martin Peretz's friend Al Gore, created friction with the magazine's management.

The New Republic issued a public apology for this breach of journalism ethics after it was revealed by an investigation by Kelly's successor, Charles Lane.

[9] His experience during Operation Desert Storm later served as the basis for his book Martyrs' Day: Chronicles of a Small War (1993).

[3] Hertzberg of The New Republic said "Highway to Hell", which appeared April 1, 1991, was "most memorable",[9] and Vare of The Atlantic praised the same article for its "emotional impact.

[20] In 2005, Matt Bai writing for The New York Times referred to it as "what became a famous article about Hillary Clinton" in his preface to his description.

[27][28] Kelly coined the term "fusion paranoia" to refer to what he considered a political convergence of both left and right-wing activists on anti-war issues and civil liberties, which he claimed were motivated by a shared belief in conspiracism or anti-government views.

[29][30] In September 2002, Kelly sharply criticized former vice president Al Gore for a speech that condemned the Bush administration's efforts to generate support for the coming invasion of Iraq.

'"[33] Kelly met his wife Madelyn Greenberg, a producer at CNN and CBS News, during the 1988 presidential election while they were both assigned to the Dukakis campaign.

[37] Combined as it was with his support of Stephen Glass during his scandal, Gawker editor Tom Scocca said that Kelly had the "distinction of an active role in two of the worst failures of journalism in a generation.

[40] In 2003 the University of New Hampshire English department established the Michael Kelly Memorial Scholarship Fund, which awards a sophomore or junior student "who is passionate about journalism".

[42] His name is also listed on the journalists' memorial in the Newseum in Washington, D.C.[43] Kelly was interred at Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.