How the fake news killed gary webb the impious digest. Tjames madisonthis text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Jan 24, 2015 webb resigned from the paper and later wrote one of the first articles about driving while black for esquire magazine. Oct 17, 2014 but webb was a real person who wrote a real story, a threepart series called dark alliance, in august 1996 for the san jose mercury news, one of the flagship newspapers of the thenmighty. In july 1995, san jose mercurynews reporter gary webb found the big one. Dark alliance is as necessary and valuable as it is horrifying and grim. Gary webb dark alliance article pdf download, pinballs book pdf download, download sherwood dungeon browser, how to download pdf to ipad pro. Gary webb was american investigative journalist, pulitzer prize winner.
By then, most of us understood webb needed very capable editing. The story behind the crack explosion, webb s series reported that in addition to waging a proxy war for the u. Like in the movie, the real gary webb attempted to uncover the connection between l. Dark alliance by gary stephen webb 622 words bartleby. Gary webbs claims in the dark alliance report were bold. Oct 07, 2014 a counterspin special broadcast from late 1996 hear gary webb talk about his dark alliance series. This audiobook serves as both a complex memoir of the time of the contras and an indictment of the current state of americas press. After the original series of articles ran in the mercurynews in late 1996, both webb. Read dark alliance pdf the cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion by gary webb seven stories press major motion picture. Aug 09, 2018 read dark alliance pdf the cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion by gary webb seven stories press major motion picture based on dark alliance and starring jeremy renner, kill the.
While the original series is apparently no longer available on the newspapers website, it has been archived by others. The dark alliance gary webb s incendiary 1996 sj mercury news expose aug 22, 1996 cocaine pipeline financed rebels evidence points to cia knowing of highvolume drug network by gary webb san jose mercury news for the better part of a decade, a san francisco bay area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the crips and. How the cia watched over the destruction of gary webb. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion pdf. A decade after the dark alliance newspaper series sent shockwaves around the world with its investigation into crack cocaineciacontra connections, a tribute is presented to dark alliance and its investigatorauthor, journalist gary webb and to the true spirit of journalism that he represented in his time. Sep 25, 2014 carrying the full title dark alliance. Backers of cialed nicaraguan rebels brought cocaine to poor l. The story behind the crack explosion, webbs series reported that in addition to waging a proxy war for the u. Two years ago, gary webb wrote a series of articles that said some bad things about the. Read dark alliance pdf the cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion by gary webb seven stories press major motion picture based. This is why webbs dark alliance series is an essential source, a primary text that every journalism student should study.
The intercept on december 10 2004, investigative journalist gary webb died of two. He also published the book dark alliance seven stories press, 1999. The series was published in the mercury news in three parts, from august 1820, 1996, with one long article and one or two shorter articles appearing each day. Mar 21, 2015 dark alliance was a series written by californiabased reporter webb and published in the san jose mercury news in 1996.
Drawing from then newly declassified documents, undercover dea audio and videotapes that had never been publicly released, federal court testimony, and interviews, webb demonstrates how our government knowingly. A simple phone call concerning an unexceptional pending drug trial turned into a massive conspiracy involving the nicaraguan contra rebels, l. Within the this audiobook version of dark alliance, webb produces a. His book serves as both a complex memoir of the time of the contras and an indictment of the current state of americas press. When they looked it up in the merck manual, they saw cocaine base and. This collection of texts, images, and audio files is a copy of the online library that accompanied the publication of gary webb s dark alliance series and his followup reporting for the san jose mercury news from 199697 about the cias role in the crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980s. Eighteen years after it was published, dark alliance, the san jose mercury. In 1996, gary stephen webb was best known for his three part article series, dark alliance. The book is based on dark alliance, webb s threepart investigative series published in the san jose mercury news in august 1996. That false assessment was passed on to congress and to major news organizations, serving as an important basis for denouncing gary webb and his dark alliance series in 1996. For me, the tragic story of gary webb began in 1996 when he was working on his dark alliance series for the san jose mercury news. Oct 14, 2018 gary webb wrote the threepart expose called dark alliance, for the san jose mercury news in california, in august 1996. In august 1996, pulitzer prizewinning journalist gary webb stunned the world with a series of articles in the san jose mercury news reporting the results of his.
Michael cuestas kill the messenger tells the story of gary webb, whose august 1996 investigative series dark alliance, published in the san jose mercury news, uncovered ties between the. Aug 18, 2006 the truth in dark alliance by nick schou. Oct 24, 2014 gary webb sums up the story in his last major interview just days before his death. Pdf the publication of a series of articles in the san jose mercury, though they did contain a. An awardwinning investigative reporter, gary webb 19552004 is best known for his dark alliance series that linked a northern california drug ring with the cia and the united states burgeoning crack epidemic. Gary webb pushed his investigation even further in his book, dark alliance. Webb resigned from the paper and later wrote one of the first articles about driving while black for esquire magazine. Gary webb san jose mercury news aug 1996 permalink. Because of gary webbs work, said senator john kerry, the cia launched an.
But webb was a real person who wrote a real story, a threepart series called dark alliance, in august 1996 for the san jose mercury news, one of. Gary webb was no journalism hero, despite what kill the. The updated paperback edition of dark alliance features revelations in justreleased reports from the department of justice, internal cia investigations, and a new cache of recently declassified secret fbi, dea, and ins filesmuch of which was not known to webb when writing the first edition of this book. In all 20,000 words of dark alliance, gary webb never claimed outright that the cia knew about the contras drug scheme, but he certainly implied as much. Webb had anonymous sources he eventually named one in a later book who had been involved in the nicaraguan drug ring to back his allegations up. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion.
In the end, dark alliance marked an institutional failure by a newspaper eager for its own prizes and stature. Gary webbs dark alliance returns to the internet narco news. Articles published by san jose mercury news on longform. With the release of the film kill the messenger this week, there is bound to be an uptick in media discussions about gary webb, the crusading investigative journalist whose 1996 dark alliance series forms the basis of the movie webbs reporting for the san jose mercury news cast a harsh light on the links between the ciabacked contras in nicaragua and drug trafficking in the united states. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion is a 1998 book by journalist gary webb.
The mainstream media largely dismissed webbs conclusions and portrayed the black community as gullible conspiracy advocates. Facing increasing public scrutiny from the fallout after webbs dark alliance series, the cia conducted its own internal investigations. Webbs bold, controversial reporting was the target of a famously vicious media backlash that. Gary webb pushed his investigation even further in his book, dark alliance the cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion.
Bob berggetty images the cia denied gary webb s reporting, while his fellow journalists nitpicked webb s faults while failing to follow up on his claims. Gary webb sums up the story in his last major interview just days before his death. In it, he claimed the contra rebels in nicaragua were shipping cocaine into. These articles were first written for the san jose mercury news before later being published into a book. Crack in the system premiering on al jazeera america in early 2015.
A threepart investigation into links between the cocaine trade, nicaraguas ciabacked contra rebels, and californias crack epidemic in the 1980s. It is one of the most bizarre alliances in modern history. Dark alliance gary webb the cia, the contras, and the crack. It is a story now told in the hollywood film, kill the messenger, based on the book of the same name by nick schou and webbs dark alliance.
The original series claimed that, in order to help raise funds for efforts against the nicaraguan sandinista government, the cia supported cocaine. In july 1995, san jose mercurynews reporter gary webb found the big onethe blockbuster story every journalist secretly dreams aboutwithout even looking for it. Sep 25, 20 facing increasing public scrutiny from the fallout after webb s dark alliance series, the cia conducted its own internal investigations. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion, was the journalist with the san jose mercury news who caused such a fuss two years ago when his series of articles pointed to central intelligence agency cia complicity in the crack cocaine epidemic. The book is based on dark alliance, webbs threepart investigative series. Actor jeremy renner stars as investigative journalist gary webb in the. With jeremy renner, robert patrick, jena sims, robert pralgo.
Frequently identified as a conspiracy theory in mainstream press coverage, webbs work evoked widespread african american support. Politicians cited the article in both sacramento and washington. He discussed his book, headline news and responded to audience telephone calls, faxes, and. In july 1995, san jose mercurynews reporter gary webb found the big one the blockbuster story every journalist secretly dreams about without even looking for it. The book is based on dark alliance, webbs threepart investigative series published in. Dark alliance author gary webb gave a fascinating talk on the evening of january 16, outlining the findings of his investigation of the cias connection to drug trafficking by the nicaraguan contras. The opening about this series teaser made it clear that the times pieces would explicitly address, and deny, the validity of all the main assertions in dark alliance. Selected writings by the author of dark alliance, by gary webb, is edited by his son, eric webb, and published by. Yet webb became unemployable for telling the truth. Dark alliance a threepart investigation into links between the cocaine trade, nicaraguas ciabacked contra rebels, and californias crack epidemic in the 1980s. A decade after the dark alliance newspaper series sent shockwaves around the world with its investigation into crack cocaineciacontra connections, a tribute is presented to dark alliance and its investigatorauthor, journalist gary webband to the true spirit of. Publication date 1999 topics cia, contras, drugs, cocaine, dark alliance. When the story first appeared in 1996 on the website of the san jose mercury news, it became an unprecedented internet sensation, receiving up to 1. This collection of texts, images, and audio files is a copy of the online library that accompanied the publication of gary webbs dark alliance series and his followup reporting for the san jose mercury news from 199697 about the cias role in the crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980s.
This is why webb s dark alliance series is an essential source, a primary text that every journalism student should study. Approximately 300 people, crowded into the first united methodist church in eugene, oregon, listened with rapt attention as webb detailed his. International journal of intelligence and counterintelligence. The dark alliance gary webbs incendiary 1996 sj mercury news expose aug 22, 1996 cocaine pipeline financed rebels evidence points to cia knowing of highvolume drug network by gary webb san jose mercury news for the better part of a decade, a san francisco bay area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the crips and. In 1998, cia inspector general frederick hitz substantiated webbs charges in two reports. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come forward. In july 1995, san jose mercurynews reporter gary webb found the big. Webb profiled the relationship in his 1996 threepart article dark alliance, where he showed that the nicaraguans had cia connections. In 1996, pulitzer prizewinning journalist gary webb 19552004 wrote a shocking series of articles for the san jose mercury news exposing the cias link to nicaraguan cocaine smuggled into the us by the contras, which had fueled the widespread crack epidemic that swept through urban areas. Dark alliance was a series written by californiabased reporter webb and published in the san jose mercury news in 1996.
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