Jason Berry (born 1949) is an American investigative reporter, author and film director based in
, Louisiana. He is known for pioneering investigative reporting on
sexual abuse in the priesthood of the Catholic Church.
Life
He attended
Jesuit High School in New Orleans, graduating in 1966.
Berry is a graduate of
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...
.
His book ''Lead Us Not into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children'' (1992) was the first major book on this issue. His 2004 book ''Vows of Silence'' deals with the sexual abuse of
Marcial Maciel
Marcial Maciel Degollado (March 10, 1920 – January 30, 2008) was a Mexican Catholic priest who founded the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement. He was general director of the Legion from 1941 to 2005. Throughout most of his car ...
, the founder of the
Legion of Christ, and the cover-up of that abuse. The author also adapted ''Vows of Silence'' into a film. Berry has been frequently interviewed in national media in the United States, has worked as a consultant for
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...
, and contributed to the
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
and is a speaker on sexual abuse issues and popular culture.
Berry has also written books and news articles on music, particularly
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
, and co-wrote ''
Up from the Cradle of Jazz: New Orleans Music Since World War II'' with Jonathan Foose and
Tad Jones.
Awards
Berry won his first
Catholic Press Association The Catholic Media Association, formerly the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada, is an association of American and Canadian newspaper and media specialists specialized on reporting on the Catholic Church. Founded in 1911, it ...
Award in 1986 for his original coverage in the ''
National Catholic Reporter'' of the
clergy sexual-abuse scandals in Louisiana, notably including the priest
Gilbert Gauthe. He was awarded his second in 1993 for the publication of ''Lead Us Not into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children''. He was a recipient of the
Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship The Alicia Patterson Foundation (APF) program was established in 1965 in memory of Alicia Patterson
Alicia Patterson (October 15, 1906 – July 2, 1963) was an American journalist, the founder and editor of ''Newsday''. With Neysa McMein, she cr ...
for his reportage of
David Duke. He and his wife live in New Orleans.
[Biographical information appears on book jacket of ''Lead Us Not into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children'' first published by Doubleday in 1992, ]
Berry won an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship in 1992, covering Louisiana's political demagogues.
Books
*''
Up from the Cradle of Jazz: New Orleans Music Since World War II'' Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1986. ,
*''Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children'' (1992) Re-issued, March 27, 2000 by University of Illinois Press.
*''The Spirit of Black Hawk: A Mystery of Africans and Indians'' (1995)
*''Vows of Silence'' New York ; London: Free Press, 2004. ,
*''Last of the Red Hot Poppas'' Seattle: Chin Music Press, 2006. ,
*''City of a Million Dreams : A History of New Orleans at Year 300'', Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2018. ,
Filmography
*''Vows of Silence'', director
* Up from the Cradle of Jazz, director
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Jason
Living people
American investigative journalists
Media coverage of Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
Historians of Mississippi
Jazz writers
Georgetown University alumni
Jesuit High School (New Orleans) alumni
American male non-fiction writers
1949 births