Robert Earle Parry (June 24, 1949 – January 27, 2018) was an American

investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

. He was known for his role in covering the

Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair ( fa, ماجرای ایران-کنترا, es, Caso Irán–Contra), often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the McFarlane affair (in Iran), or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States ...

for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

(AP) and ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', including breaking the Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare (CIA manual provided to the Nicaraguan contras) and the CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking in the U.S. scandal in 1985. He was awarded the

George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awar ...

for National Reporting in 1984 and the

I.F. Stone Isidor Feinstein "I. F." Stone (December 24, 1907 – June 18, 1989) was an American investigative journalist, writer, and author. Known for his politically progressive views, Stone is best remembered for ''I. F. Stone's Weekly'' (1953–1971), ...

Medal for Journalistic Independence by Harvard's

Nieman Foundation The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University is the primary journalism institution at Harvard. It was founded in February 1938 as the result of a $1.4 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of ...

in 2015. Parry was the editor of ' (''consortiumnews.com'') from 1995 until his death in 2018.

Life and career

Born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

, Parry received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in English from

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanth ...

Waterville, Maine Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The city is home to Colby College and Thomas College. As of the 2020 census the population was 15,828. Along with Augusta, Waterville is ...

in 1971 and began his career in journalism in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a pop ...

working for his father's newspaper ''The Middlesex Daily News''. He joined the

in 1974, moving to its Washington, D.C. bureau in 1977. Following the 1980 presidential election he was assigned to its Special Assignment (investigative reporting) unit, where he began working on

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

.Robert Parry, realhistoryarchives.com
A talk by Robert Parry given in Santa Monica on March 28, 1993
/ref> Parry was a finalist for the 1985

Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting This Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on national affairs in the United States. In its first six years (1942–1947), it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting – National. Li ...

and received the

for National Reporting in 1984 for his work with the Associated Press on Iran-Contra, where he broke the story that the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

had provided an assassination manual to the Nicaraguan Contras ( Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare). In mid-1985, he wrote the first article on

Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Secu ...

's involvement in the affair and, together with Brian Barger in late 1985, he broke the

CIA and Contras cocaine trafficking in the US The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

scandal,Brian Barger and Robert Parry, "Reports Link Nicaraguan Rebels to Cocaine Trafficking", Associated Press (December 20, 1985). helping to spark Senator

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

's interest in investigating Iran–Contra. The Associated Press had refused to publish the drug trafficking story, and only relented when its Spanish-language newswire service accidentally published a translation. 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 after Eugene Hasenfus' plane ( Corporate Air Services HPF821) was shot down in Nicaragua in October 1986. After finding out that his boss had been "conferring with

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it i ...

North on a regular basis", Parry left AP in 1987 to join ''

'', leaving the publication in 1990. In August 1990, PBS' ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'' asked Parry to work on the

October Surprise conspiracy theory The October Surprise conspiracy theory refers to an alleged plot to influence the outcome of the 1980 United States presidential election, contested between Democratic incumbent president Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, former Californ ...

, leading to Parry making several documentaries for the program, broadcast in 1991 and 1992. In 1996, ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...

'' wrote about his work on the theory, saying that "his continuing quest to unearth the facts of the alleged October Surprise has made him ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

'' among those who worship at the altar of conventional wisdom."Dan Kennedy, 11 June 1996, Salon.com
Parry's Thrust
() When journalist

Gary Webb Gary Stephen Webb (August 31, 1955 – December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative ...

published his newspaper series " Dark Alliance" in 1996 alleging that the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

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. In 1995, Parry founded the Consortium for Independent Journalism Inc. (CIJ) as a non-profit, US-based independent news service which publishes the website ''Consortium News''.Robert Parry, 28 December 2011
A Brief Narrative of Consortiumnews
Consortiumnews.com In October 2015, Parry was awarded the

Medal for Journalistic Independence by Harvard's

Nieman Foundation for Journalism The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University is the primary journalism institution at Harvard. It was founded in February 1938 as the result of a $1.4 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of ...

, "for his career distinguished by meticulously researched investigations, intrepid questioning, and reporting that has challenged mainstream media.". In June 2017, Parry was awarded the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. Parry died on January 27, 2018, following several strokes caused by undiagnosed

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of pancr ...

he had suffered from for the previous four or five years of his life."Robert Parry's Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews"
Parry, Nat. ''Consortiumnews'', 28 January. Retrieved 4 February 2018.

Publications

Books

* ''Fooling America: How Washington Insiders Twist the Truth and Manufacture the Conventional Wisdom''. New York: William Morrow (1992) * ''Trick or Treason: The October Surprise Mystery''. New York: Sheridan Square Press (1993). . . * ''The October Surprise X-Files: The Hidden Origins of the Reagan-Bush Era'' (1996) * ''Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, The Press & Project Truth'' (1999) * ''Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq'' (2004) * ''Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush'', with Sam and Nat Parry. Arlington, Virginia: Media Consortium (2007) * ''America's Stolen Narrative: From Washington and Madison to Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes to Obama'' (2012)

Articles

* "Iran-Contra's Untold Story." ''

Foreign Policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

'', no. 72 (Autumn 1988), pp. 3–30. . .
"Contra-Cocaine: Big Media's Big Mistakes."
''I.F. Magazine'' (July/August 1997), pp. 9-12.
US House Admits Nazi Role in Ukraine
''Consortium News'', June 12, 2015.

References

External links

*
Consortium News
'
Articles by Robert Parry at ''Consortium News'' website
Interview with Robert Parry on Lost History & Death of U.S. Journalism

Outpouring of Support Honors Robert Parry
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parry, Robert 1949 births
2018 deaths Writers from Hartford, Connecticut Colby College alumni Journalists from Connecticut American alternative journalists American investigative journalists American online journalists Associated Press reporters George Polk Award recipients American political writers American male non-fiction writers