After he graduated in Sociology, Leonard Ornstein started his professional career as an economic journalist at the regional newspaper Het Parool. Currently he works for the television news magazine 'Netwerk' (NCRV) and writes for De Volkskrant newspaper and theVrij Nederland news magazine. He co-authored a number of books on the PvdA (socialist political party), former EC-commissioner Frits Bolkestein and the Middle East. After he was awarded the Anne Vondeling Prize for political journalism, Ornstein focussed specifically on the international political arena.