Editor&Publisher: Upcoming Book On Gary Webb Hits Critics of CIA Series

[DeepModem Mom]

Upcoming Book On Gary Webb Hits Critics of CIA Series
By Joe Strupp
Published: August 08, 2006


Gary Webb (E&P)

NEW YORK Nearly two years after the death of former San Jose Mercury News reporter Gary Webb, uncertainties remain over exactly what drove him to suicide, who was to blame for the problems with his controversial CIA/crack series, how much of the reporting was accurate, and how the harsh reactions to the series affected its impact.

An upcoming book by a veteran investigative reporter who knew Webb and reported on many of the same drug-related issues seeks to clear up some of the uncertainties, while defending much of Webb's reporting, criticizing the major newspapers that attacked him, and pointing out several new facts related to his infamous series and tragic death.

Webb, who died Dec. 10, 2004, from a gunshot wound to the head after a long-running bout of depression, is known to most as the hard-driving veteran investigative reporter who overstepped some facts in the three-part series that the Mercury News ran in 1996, titled "Dark Alliance." The series sought to link the CIA and its Nicaraguan Contra supporters of the mid-1980's to the burgeoning crack epidemic that exploded, at first, in Los Angeles.

Soon after the series ran, three of the country's major newspapers sought to debunk Webb's assertions of a strong CIA link to the crack scourge, while The Mercury News eventually admitted mistakes and all but hung Webb out to dry. After leaving the paper when he was banished to a bureau police beat, and failing to find a reporting job at any other major news outlet over several years, Webb took his own life, amid other personal problems.

Since his death, Webb's story has often been seen as a simple case of a reporter going too far in a complicated story, being knocked down by critics, and succumbing to a dark depression that followed. But according to author Nick Schou, and his book, "Kill the Messenger," which is due out in October via Nation Books, the truth is not as clear....

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002952140

[et in Arcadia ego]

1. err..

"Webb, who died Dec. 10, 2004, from a gunshot wound to the head after a long-running bout of depression"

Actually it was TWO gunshot wounds to the head. Quite talented of him, I'd imagine..

[Jankyn]

4. One was a hesitation wound.

The first shot grazed his head. He shot again and took his own life. It happens with gunshot suicides from time to time.

The "two head wounds" thing has gotten a lot of speculation going. Gary committed suicide.

BTW, I knew him.

[chat_noir]

2. Amazon Book Description

Kill the Messenger tells the story of the tragic death of Gary Webb, the controversial newspaper reporter who committed suicide in December 2004. Webb is the former San Jose Mercury News reporter whose 1996 “Dark Alliance” series on the so-called CIA-crack cocaine connection created a firestorm of controversy and led to his resignation from the paper amid escalating attacks on his work by the mainstream media.

Author and investigative journalist Nick Schou published numerous articles on the controversy and was the only reporter to significantly advance Webb’s stories. Drawing on exhaustive research and highly personal interviews with Webb’s family, colleagues, supporters and critics, this book argues convincingly that Webb’s editors betrayed him, despite mounting evidence that his stories were correct. Kill the Messenger examines the “Dark Alliance” controversy, what it says about the current state of journalism in America, and how it led Webb to ultimately take his own life.

Webb’s widow, Susan Bell, remains an ardent defender of her ex-husband. By combining her story with a probing examination of the one of the most important media scandals in recent memory, this book provides a gripping view of one of the greatest tragedies in the annals of investigative journalism.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1560259302/sr=8-1/qid=1155137874/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4962362-2788912?ie=UTF8

[frylock]

3. cool. i just bought dark alliance..

and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. I'll definitely be checking out this book as well.