Robert Parry | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1949-06-24)June 24, 1949 Hartford, Connecticut, United States |
| Died | January 27, 2018(2018-01-27) (aged 68) Arlington County, Virginia, United States |
| Alma mater | Colby College |
| Occupation | Investigative journalist |
| Employers |
|
| Known for |
|
| Spouse | Diane Duston |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards | |
| Website | consortiumnews |
Robert Earle Parry (June 24, 1949 – January 27, 2018)[1] was an Americaninvestigative journalist. He was known for his role in covering theIran–Contra affair for theAssociated Press (AP) andNewsweek, including breaking thePsychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare (CIA manual provided to the Nicaraguan contras) and theCIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking in the U.S. scandal in 1985.
He was awarded theGeorge Polk Award for National Reporting in 1984 and theI.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence by Harvard'sNieman Foundation in 2015. Parry was the editor ofConsortium News (consortiumnews.com) from 1995 until his death in 2018.[2]
Born inHartford, Connecticut, Parry received aB.A. in English fromColby College inWaterville, Maine in 1971 and began his career in journalism inFramingham, Massachusetts working for his father's newspaperThe Middlesex Daily News.[2] He joined theAssociated Press in 1974, moving to itsWashington, D.C. bureau in 1977.[3] Following the1980 presidential election he was assigned to its Special Assignment (investigative reporting) unit, where he began working onCentral America.[4][better source needed]
Parry was a finalist for the 1985Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting[5] and received theGeorge Polk Award for National Reporting in 1984 for his work with the Associated Press onIran-Contra, where he broke the story that theCentral Intelligence Agency had provided an assassination manual to the Nicaraguan Contras (Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare).[6][7] In mid-1985, he wrote the first article onOliver North's involvement in the affair and, together withBrian Barger in late 1985, he broke theCIA and Contras cocaine trafficking in the US scandal,[8] helping to spark SenatorJohn Kerry's interest in investigating Iran–Contra.[9] The Associated Press had refused to publish the drug trafficking story, and only relented when its Spanish-language newswire service accidentally published a translation.[7] Barger and Parry continued to press their investigation of North even as most of the media declined to follow it up, eventually publishing a story in mid-1986, based on 24 sources, which led to a Congressional committee asking questions of North. After North denied the allegations, Barger was pushed out of the Associated Press, and Parry was unable to publish any further follow-ups to the story until afterEugene Hasenfus' plane (Corporate Air Services HPF821) was shot down in Nicaragua in October 1986.[4][non-primary source needed] After finding out that his boss had been "conferring with [Oliver] North on a regular basis", Parry left AP in 1987 to joinNewsweek,[7] leaving the publication in 1990.[10]
In August 1990,PBS'Frontline asked Parry to work on the1980 October Surprise theory,[4] leading to Parry making several documentaries for the program,[10][11][12] broadcast in 1991 and 1992. In 1996,Salon wrote about his work on the theory, saying that "his continuing quest to unearth the facts of the alleged October Surprise has made himpersona non grata among those who worship at the altar of conventional wisdom."[10]
When journalistGary Webb published his newspaper series "Dark Alliance" in 1996 alleging that theReagan administration had allowed the Contras to smuggle cocaine into the US to make money for their efforts, Parry supported Webb amidst heavy criticism from the media.[13]
In 1995, Parry founded the Consortium for Independent Journalism Inc. (CIJ) as a non-profit, US-based independent news service which publishes the websiteConsortium News.[14]
In October 2015, Parry was awarded theI.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence by Harvard'sNieman Foundation for Journalism, "for his career distinguished by meticulously researched investigations, intrepid questioning, and reporting that has challenged mainstream media.".[15]
In June 2017, Parry was awarded theMartha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism.[16]
Parry died on January 27, 2018, following several strokes caused by undiagnosedpancreatic cancer he had suffered from for the previous four or five years of his life.[17]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
