Marilyn Thompson began her career at the Columbia Record in Columbia, South Carolina as a governmental affairs and investigative reporter. She was named a Congressional Fellow in 1982 by the American Political Science Association. From 1982 to 1986, she worked at the Philadelphia Daily News as a general assignment and investigative reporter and then moved to the New York Daily News in 1986 as a general assignment reporter. She was promoted to Assistant City Editor for investigations in 1987 and then transferred to the Washington bureau in 1988 to cover the Justice Department. Her new book, "The Killer Strain: Anthrax and A Government Exposed" will be published April 1, 2003
Thompson joined The Washington Post in 1990 as government reporter in Prince George's County. She was promoted to Metropolitan Projects Editor in 1991. She moved to the National desk in 1992 as Deputy National Editor for domestic coverage, then became Investigations Editor, and was later promoted to Assistant Managing Editor in charge of the Investigative team in 1999.