The book is based on dark alliance, webb s threepart investigative series published in the san jose mercury news in august 1996. In 1996, journalist gary webb began looking into links between nicaraguas. This is why webbs dark alliance series is an essential source, a primary text that every journalism student should study. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb telegraph. Several of webb s critics were merely acting as gatekeepers. Oct 10, 2014 kill the messenger, a movie starring jeremy renner, just opened, about the life and death of pulitzer prizewinning journalist gary webb, who committed suicide in 2004. Hired by the san jose mercury news, webb contributed to the papers pulitzer prizewinning coverage of the loma prieta earthquake. Mar 08, 2015 i n 1996, journalist gary webb wrote a series of articles under the title dark alliance for the san jose mercury news suggesting a cia connection between antigovernment contras in nicaragua.
The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion dark alliance. Gary webb, the journalist who busted the cia for selling crack. Rule 2 is not in effect for replies to this comment reddit and rconspiracy in general are manipulated platforms. 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. The cia, the contras and the crack cocaine explosion from seven stories press.
From the coca and poppy fields, all the way to teaching freeway ricky ross how to cook crack cocaine to destroy the innercity black communities, their crimes are despicable and scream for exposure and justice. Unlike other books that purport to tell the inside story of americas most futile war kings of cocaine by guy gugliotta and jeff leen. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion gary webb interview 1998. Kill the messenger is a 2014 american biographical crime thriller film directed by michael cuesta and written by peter landesman. But, after critics began to pick apart some pieces of the series, webb was accused of sloppy reporting and, later, demoted to a lesser beat at the mercury news before. Written by peter landesman adapted from nick schous kill the messenger and webbs own dark alliance, the film is immensely sympathetic to webb while still allowing the character. Stick to the topic at hand, report rule violations, and keep any discussion directed at users, mods, or this sub in reply to this comment only. Crack in the system premiering on al jazeera america in early 2015. Seeing the gray in dark alliance jesse katz on the life and death and hollywood resurrection of gary webb, the reporter who linked the cia to the crack epidemic by. 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. Even at the time, some thought the backlash against mr. Had ceppos stood by webb and permitted him to continue his work and had other newspapers objectively worked to advance his reporting, the true flaw of dark alliance that it radically understated the extent of the cias ties to contra drug traffickers wouldnt have come out only when the cia decided to confess its sins. The series examined the origins of the crack cocaine trade in lo.
The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion. Gary webb sums up the story in his last major interview just days before his death. Eighteen years after it was published, dark alliance, the san jose. Kill the messenger is based on webb s 1998 book, dark alliance, in which he attempted to rebuild his ruined reputation, as well as my 2004 biography of webb, kill the messenger, which shares the. Like in the movie, the real gary webb attempted to uncover the connection between l. As recently as one year earlier gary webb had been one of the nations top investigative reporters.
Kill the messenger is based on webbs 1998 book, dark alliance, in which he attempted to rebuild his ruined reputation, as well as my 2004 biography of webb, kill the messenger, which shares the. Kill the messenger, a movie starring jeremy renner due oct. Kill the messenger recalls a reporter wrongly disgraced the. Webb profiled the relationship in his 1996 threepart article dark alliance, where he showed that the nicaraguans had cia connections. 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 cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion is a 1998 book by journalist gary webb. In the end, dark alliance marked an institutional failure by a newspaper eager for its own prizes and stature. Saint gary webb by charlie hardy, february 10, 2005. It is based upon a controversial series i wrote for the san jose mercury news. As investigative journalist gary webb wrote in his book dark alliance. Oct 24, 2014 gary webb sums up the story in his last major interview just days before his death. Dark alliance was a series written by californiabased reporter webb and published in the. Webb s 1996 threepart series dark alliance claimed that the cia was involved in the crack cocaine trade and initially drew praise as a piece of investigative reporting.
A cspan segment in which gary webb elaborates on his investigative work on the dark alliance of cia agents, contra rebels, and california drug dealers. Dark alliance by gary webb penguin books australia. 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. Gary webb was no journalism hero, despite what kill the. In his book dark alliance, author and journalist, gary webb, went into great detail in framing the narrative of how the cia used drug money to fund its interests in the contra revolution in nicaragua. The decline of journalism from watergate to dark alliance. The fire set off by gary webb and his dark alliance series, though, is a different matter for those who sought to contain it. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come forward. The movie dramatizes webbs investigation of contraallied nicaraguan cocaine traffickers norwin meneses and.
It is based on the book of the same name by nick schou and the book dark alliance by gary webb. Gary webb, american investigative journalist who wrote a threepart series for the san jose mercury news in 1996 on connections between the central intelligence agency cia, the u. Webb is best known for his dark alliance series, which appeared in the mercury news in 1996. In 1996, san jose mercury news reporter gary webb published a series of articles under the headline, dark alliance. Gary webb was born on august 31, 1955 in corona, california, usa as gary stephen webb. Gary webb pushed his investigation even further in his book, dark alliance. Gary webb was an american investigative journalist who wrote a threepart series for the san jose mercury news in 1996 called dark alliance.
Watch the real gary webb talk about his dark alliance article and view a freeway ricky ross interview where he discusses the business side of his former drug operation. With the release of the movie kill the messenger, the messenger is about to be resurrected from the ashes, along with his message, and that truth wont be extinguished easily even by an army of first. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb. 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. Jan 23, 2014 a movie about gary webb and the dark alliance story, entitled kill the messenger, is scheduled for release this year, starring jeremy renner as webb. Webbs bold, controversial reporting was the target of a famously vicious media backlash that. Kill the messenger 2014 is based on webbs book dark alliance and nick schous biography of webb. The same internet that gary webb pioneered is now the preferred source for news everywhere on earth. Based on the true story of journalist gary webb, the film takes place in the mid1990s.
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. Oct 14, 2018 gary webb wrote the threepart expose called dark alliance, for the san jose mercury news in california, in august 1996. He died on december 10, 2004 in carmichael, california. After garys death, we got a copy of the cdrom of his series and with his familys blessing we published dark alliance on narco news, uncensored. Dark alliance was a series written by californiabased reporter webb and published in the san jose mercury news in 1996. In it, he claimed the contra rebels in nicaragua were shipping cocaine into. He began his career working for newspapers in kentucky and ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative writing. The story behind those stories has now been made into a feature film called. This is the real story behind kill the messenger this is the real story behind kill the messenger from left.
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 most surprising thing in doing the work to write this movie is how easy it was to destroy gary webb. Webbs 1996 threepart series dark alliance claimed that the cia was involved in the crack cocaine trade and initially drew praise as a piece of investigative reporting. The story behind the crack explosion, webbs series reported that in addition to waging a proxy war for the u. The videos below shed more light on the kill the messenger true story. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion by gary webb 1,248 ratings, 4. With jeremy renner, robert patrick, jena sims, robert pralgo. A movie about gary webb and the dark alliance story, entitled kill the messenger, is scheduled for release this year, starring jeremy renner as webb. Webbs reporting, focused on a few central players of the l. The original series claimed that, in order to help raise funds for efforts against the nicaraguan. 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.
Oct 10, 2014 it started when webb wrote a series of three articles for the san jose mercury news in 1996 dubbed dark alliance. In 1996, journalist gary webb wrote a series of articles under the title dark alliance for the san jose mercury news suggesting a cia. Michael levine joins montel williams with gary webb to discuss the cias active sabotage against the american people, and their unwillingness to cooperate with open investigations. Sep 25, 2014 carrying the full title dark alliance.
This, of course, was also the central premise of webbs 1996 dark alliance series, which originally. Kill the messenger, a film about the reporter gary webb. Gary webb, the pulitzer prizewinning reporter who broke the story of the cias involvement in the importation of cocaine into the u. The new movie kill the messenger, based in part on a 2006 book by a. Movie about gary webb, dark alliance reporter who died, planned. Journalist gary webb, california 1996, started investigating cias role in the 1980s. Tribute to dark alliance and journalist gary webb, transcripts of a 1997 webb speech and interview from san francisco bay area independent media center. Journalist gary webbs story told in kill the messenger. In the dark alliance, drawing from the newly declassified documents, undercover dea drug enforcement administration audio and videotapes that had never been publicly released, federal court testimony, and interviews, webb demonstrates how us government knowingly allowed massive amounts of drugs and money to change hands at the expense of communities. How the cia watched over the destruction of gary webb.
Kill the messenger recalls a reporter wrongly disgraced. It remains today among the most soughtafter pages in our fourteen years of archives. While the original series is apparently no longer available on the newspapers website, it has been archived by others. He was a writer, known for kill the messenger 2014, filming in georgia 2015 and crack in america 2015. Gary stephen webb was an american investigative journalist. Like freelance investigative reporter danny casolaro was looking into the cabazonwackenhut projects as part of a larger conspiracy investigation at the time he was found dead in a west.
Oct 10, 2014 written by peter landesman, kill the messenger is based on a book by nick schou about mr. Gary webb on the cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion, audio interviews 19971998 with gary webb from democracy now. This is why webb s dark alliance series is an essential source, a primary text that every journalism student should study. If anything, the connection between federal law enforcement and drug trafficking appears to have gotten worse. It was released in 2014 and is largely based on the book of the same name by nick schou, as well as the book dark alliance by gary webb. Thank you for the excellent documentation, the cia and other intelligence agencies running the global drug trade is indisputable. Gary webb faced a storm of criticism for his threepart series, dark alliance, in the san jose mercury newspaper. Journalist gary webb, california 1996, started investigating cias role in the. Movie about gary webb, dark alliance reporter who died. Despite what a new movie says about the reporter who linked the cia. In his report, webb who had won a pulitzer in 1989 for a different story. Late journalist gary webb, actor jeremy renner in kill the messenger.
Webb uncovered the cias alleged role in importing crack cocaine into the u. 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. Dark alliance the truth exposed by gary webb the odyssey. 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. But, after critics began to pick apart some pieces of the series, webb was accused of sloppy reporting and, later, demoted to a lesser beat at the mercury news before leaving. Inspired by the life of pulitzer prizewinning journalist gary webb jeremy renner and his dark alliance expose on the explosion of crack cocaine in the united states which inevitably ruined his career, the film draws attention to the power and reach of fourth and fifth estate journalism and to the subjective objectivism of its gatekeepers. The film takes place in the mid1990s, when webb uncovered the cias past.
By then, most of us understood webb needed very capable editing. 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. The cia, the contras, and the cocaine explosion webb, gary, waters, maxine on. Webbs own book, dark alliance, his 1998 followup to his. Jerry ceppos and the burning memory of gary webb by luis a.
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