Gary Webb facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gary Webb
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Gary Stephen Webb
August 31, 1955 Corona, California, U.S.
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| Died | December 10, 2004 (aged 49) Carmichael, California, U.S.
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| Education | Northern Kentucky University |
| Occupation | Investigative journalist |
| Years active | 1980–2004 |
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Notable credit(s)
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Cleveland Plain Dealer San Jose Mercury News |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Bell (m. 1979) |
| Children | 3 |
Gary Stephen Webb (born August 31, 1955 – died December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. This means he was a reporter who dug deep into stories to uncover hidden facts.
He started his career at newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio. He won many awards for his detailed reporting. Later, he joined the San Jose Mercury News. Webb helped the paper win a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake.
Webb is most famous for his "Dark Alliance" series. This series appeared in The Mercury News in 1996. It caused a lot of discussion, especially in the African-American community in Los Angeles. The series led to several major investigations.
Other big newspapers, like the Los Angeles Times, wrote articles that questioned some of Webb's claims. In 1997, after looking into the story, the editor of The Mercury News said that while many parts were correct, there were some problems in how it was written and edited.
Webb left The Mercury News in December 1997. He then worked for the California State Legislature. In 1998, he published a book based on his "Dark Alliance" series. He also continued to do freelance investigative reporting. Gary Webb passed away on December 10, 2004.
The "Dark Alliance" series is still talked about today. Some people think its claims were not fully accurate. Others believe a later investigation by the CIA actually supported Webb's work.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Gary Webb was born in Corona, California. His father was a Marine, so his family moved around a lot. When his father retired, they settled near Indianapolis. Gary and his brother went to high school there.
After high school, Webb attended a community college in Indianapolis. He had a scholarship to help him pay for it. When his family moved to Cincinnati, he transferred to Northern Kentucky University.
Webb began writing for his college newspaper in Indianapolis. At Northern Kentucky, he joined the journalism program. He wrote for the school paper, The Northerner. He studied there for four years but did not finish his degree. Instead, he started working as a reporter in 1978. He joined the Kentucky Post, a local newspaper. In 1979, Webb married Susan Bell. They had three children together.
Webb's Journalism Career
Gary Webb's first major investigative project was in 1980. The Cincinnati Post published "The Coal Connection." This was a seventeen-part series written by Webb and another reporter. The series looked into the murder of a coal company president. This person had connections to organized crime. The series won a national award for investigative reporting.
In 1983, Webb moved to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He continued his investigative work there. In 1985, his series "Doctoring the Truth" uncovered problems with the State Medical Board. This led to an investigation by the Ohio House. It resulted in big changes to the state's Medical Practice Act. Webb then covered statewide issues and won many regional journalism awards.
In 1988, the San Jose Mercury News hired Webb. They wanted him to be an investigative reporter. He worked in their Sacramento office. He was often allowed to choose his own stories. Webb was part of the team that covered the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. He and a colleague wrote about why a highway structure collapsed. The Mercury News's earthquake coverage won the staff a Pulitzer Prize in 1990.
The "Dark Alliance" Series
Webb started researching the "Dark Alliance" series in July 1995. The series was published in The Mercury News in three parts. It ran from August 18 to August 20, 1996. A long main article appeared each day, along with one or two shorter ones. The series was also put on The Mercury News website. It included extra information, like documents and audio recordings.
End of the Series
After the series was published, The Mercury News spent several months reviewing the story. The newspaper also let Webb travel to Central America again. He wanted to find more evidence to support his story. By January, Webb had written drafts of four more articles. But his editors felt these new articles did not fully support the original claims.
The editors met with Webb many times to discuss their findings. They decided not to print the new articles. Webb was allowed to keep working on the story. He made one more trip to Nicaragua in March. At the end of March, the editor told Webb he would write a column about the review. This column was published on May 11, 1997.
In his column, the editor wrote that the series "did not meet our standards" in some ways. He said it only showed one side of the evidence. He also said it didn't include information that went against a main point. The series also presented an estimate of money as a fact, not an estimate. Finally, he said the series "created impressions that were open to misinterpretation." This was due to "imprecise language and graphics."
The editor noted that Webb did not agree with these conclusions. He took responsibility for the problems. He said, "I believe that we fell short at every step of our process."
Webb's Resignation
Gary Webb disagreed with the editor's column. In interviews, he criticized how the newspaper handled the story. The editors, however, felt Webb had not told them about information that went against his claims. They also felt he responded with accusations instead of reasoned arguments.
In June 1997, The Mercury News told Webb they were moving him from Sacramento. He was offered a choice: work at the main office in San Jose or do spot reporting in Cupertino. Both locations were a long drive from his home. Webb chose Cupertino, but he was unhappy with the routine stories and the long commute.
He resigned from the newspaper in November 1997.
"Dark Alliance" Book
After leaving The Mercury News, Webb turned his "Dark Alliance" series into a book. The book answered the criticisms of the series. It also described his experiences writing the story and dealing with the controversy. It was published in 1998. A new version came out in 1999. This version included Webb's response to reports from the CIA and Justice Department.
The Dark Alliance book won several awards. It was a finalist for the Pen/Newman's Own First Amendment Award in 1998. It was also a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller. In 1999, it won the Firecracker Alternative Book Award in the Politics category.
Webb's Later Views
After leaving The Mercury News, Webb spoke about the controversy. He believed it was a form of media manipulation. He stated that major newspapers often share the government's side of a story. He felt they use friendly reporters instead of speaking directly.
Webb wrote an essay called "The Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On." In it, he shared his changed views on the newspaper industry.
If we had met five years ago, you wouldn't have found a more staunch defender of the newspaper industry than me ... And then I wrote some stories that made me realize how sadly misplaced my bliss had been. The reason I'd enjoyed such smooth sailing for so long hadn't been, as I'd assumed, because I was careful and diligent and good at my job ... The truth was that, in all those years, I hadn't written anything important enough to suppress.
Webb believed there was a "collusion between the press and the powerful." He felt they reported freely on small matters. But when it came to "the real down and dirty stuff," he said, "We begin to see the limits of our freedoms." He also stated that his series presented "dangerous ideas" by suggesting "crimes of state had been committed."
Later Career and Death
After leaving The Mercury News, Webb worked as an investigator. He worked for the California State Legislature. He investigated things like racial profiling by the California Highway Patrol. He also looked into claims that a company received a large contract without proper bidding.
While working for the legislature, Webb continued to do freelance investigative reporting. He wrote an article about racial profiling in traffic stops. This article appeared in Esquire magazine in April 1999.
Webb later moved to another office within the State Assembly. He was laid off in February 2004.
In August 2004, Webb joined the Sacramento News & Review. This was an alternative weekly newspaper. He continued his investigative writing there. One of his last articles looked at America's Army, a video game made by the U.S. Army.
Gary Webb was found dead in his home on December 10, 2004.
After Webb's death, a collection of his stories was published. It included stories from before and after the "Dark Alliance" series. The book was called The Killing Game: Selected Stories from the Author of Dark Alliance. Webb's son, Eric, edited the collection.
Webb's Legacy
Views on Webb's Journalism
People have very different opinions about Gary Webb's journalism. After the "Dark Alliance" controversy, his earlier work was closely examined. Some articles pointed out that other series he wrote had also faced criticism.
However, many writers and editors who worked with him praised him highly. Walter Bogdanich, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, called Webb "brilliant." He said Webb "knew more about public records than anybody I've ever known." Mary Anne Sharkey, Webb's editor, said he was known as 'the carpenter'. This was "because he had everything nailed down." She added, "Gary's documentation is awesome and his work ethic is unbelievable."
California Representative Maxine Waters strongly supported Webb. After his death, she called him "one of the finest investigative journalists that our country has ever seen."
Jonathan Krim, an editor who hired Webb, said Webb "had all the qualities you'd want in a reporter: curious, dogged, a very high sense of wanting to expose wrongdoing." But Krim also noted that Webb sometimes struggled to question his own ideas. Another editor, Scott Herhold, wrote that Webb was a journalist of "outsized talent." He said Webb had a great "nose for an investigative story." However, he also felt Webb was "fundamentally a man of passion, not of fairness." He believed Webb tended to ignore facts that didn't fit his theories.
Films About Gary Webb
Kill the Messenger (2014) is a movie based on Gary Webb's book Dark Alliance. It is also based on a biography of Webb by Nick Schou. Actor Jeremy Renner plays Gary Webb in the film.
TV Series
Snowfall is a TV drama series. It is set in Los Angeles in 1983. The show follows several characters. One character is a CIA agent who helps get guns for a group called the Contras.
See also
In Spanish: Gary Webb para niños
