Kurtz was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is the host of Reliable Sources on CNN and has written for The New Republic, the Washington Monthly, and New York Magazine. He is a graduate of the University at Buffalo and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Kurtz has publicly declined to state his political affiliation.

The Washington Post

Kurtz has covered the press since 1990 for the Post, CNN Programs — Anchors/Reporters — Howard Kurtz and is widely read within the journalism business. His political slant is often disputed by critics as both liberal and conservative viewpoints have been pinpointed in his writing. Mickey Kaus, reporting on and partially quoting from a letter by Charles Kaiser in The New Republic, wrote that Kurtz "has large, non-technical conflicts of interest, since he free-lances and takes money 'from the people he writes about, from Time Warner to Condé Nast.'... One seemingly conflicting interest is Kurtz co-hosting CNN's Reliable Sources, in of which he obtains monetary supplements as well as national renown." Kaus, Mickey. "Phony Pose, 'Oh, We Disclose,' Hurts Kaiser, Kurtz Adviser!," Kaus Files, Slate.com. June 18, 2000.

Kurtz received criticism for his seeming support of syndicated radio host Don Imus. After Imus was dismissed amid controversy surrounding a particularly derogatory statement, Kurtz commented on an April 15, 2007, edition of Reliable Sources that no one had ever asked him, "How can you go on this show when he's making fun of blacks and women?" However, journalist Phil Nobile wrote a column on TomPaine.com on June 14, 2000, asking this very question. While Kurtz supported Imus' widley critisized slur against African American women, and continues to go on his show, he was an outspoken critic of Rick Sanchez when Sanchez stated that the news networks were run by the "Northeastern Liberal Elite."

Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly has conversely criticized Kurtz for unfairly criticizing Fox News. The network had covered a story about how the United States Justice Department failed to pursue prosecution of members of the New Black Panther Party for accusations of voter intimidation during the 2008 United States Presidential Election due to allegations the Obama Administration had been playing racial politics. O'Reilly had criticized the network news media outlets, particularly Bob Schieffer of the CBS News talk show Face the Nation, for not asking Eric Holder about the story. When Kurtz talked about the topic to his audience on Reliable Sources, he had mentioned that Fox News was "pushing" the story. O'Reilly criticized Kurtz's description that Fox was pushing the story and said that Kurtz's own newspaper, the Washington Post, had its own ombudsman Andrew Alexander say that it regretted not pursuing the story earlier due to newsworthiness.

KURTZ: I think the argument that I've heard Olbermann make in the past about Fox News — it's not an argument that I embrace — is that, because it poses as a news organization and puts out dangerous misinformation is a cheerleader for the Bush administration, that it's misinforming our society. But you know what? They're entitled to do that.

The Daily Beast

In October 2010, Kurtz announced that he was moving to the online publication The Daily Beast. He will serve as the Washington bureau chief for the website, writing on media and politics.