Wayne Barrett (July 11, 1945 – January 19, 2017) was an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

. He worked as an

investigative reporter 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 ...

and

senior editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edito ...

for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' for 37 years, until he was laid off in 2011.

Early life and education

Barrett was born on July 11, 1945, in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135. Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wi ...

, and was raised in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch, the city's population was 79,009 at the 2020 census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mounta ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts 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 ...

degree in journalism from

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

in the discipline from the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism ...

, where he subsequently taught as an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

for over thirty years.

Career

Following his tenure at ''The Village Voice'', Barrett was a fellow at

The Nation Institute Type Media Center (formerly The Nation Institute) is a nonprofit media organization that was previously associated with ''The Nation'' magazine. It sponsors fellows, hosts forums, publishes books and investigative reporting, and awards several an ...

and a contributor to ''

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 ...

''. Barrett was best known for authoring many articles and books about politicians, including

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

figures such as

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...

and

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was ma ...

. Barrett was the first journalist to uncover Trump's business deceptions. He began reporting on Trump in the late 1970s and did 10 hours of taped interviews with Trump while the

Grand Hyatt New York The Hyatt Grand Central New York is a hotel located at 125 East 42nd Street, adjoining Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It operated as the 2,000-room Commodore Hotel between 1919 and 1976. Hotel ch ...

was under construction; his two-part series led to the impaneling of a

federal grand jury Grand juries in the United States are groups of citizens empowered by United States federal or state law to conduct legal proceedings, chiefly investigating potential criminal conduct and determining whether criminal charges should be brought ...

in the Eastern District in Brooklyn against Trump. Barrett's 1991 biography of Trump was republished with the title of ''Trump: The Greatest Show on Earth: The Deals, the Downfall, the Reinvention'' in 2016. Barrett's book, ''Rudy!: An Investigative Biography of Rudolph Giuliani,'' was adapted into a 2003 television film, '' Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story''. He was interviewed for the 2006 documentary '' Giuliani Time'' and the 2017 documentary '' Get Me Roger Stone''. Barrett was a mentor to progressive activist and political commentator Nomiki Konst. After Barrett's death, his complete writings were acquired by the

Dolph Briscoe Center for American History The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History is an organized research unit and public service component of the University of Texas at Austin named for Dolph Briscoe, the 41st governor of Texas. The center collects and preserves documents and a ...

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Death

Barrett died in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on January 19, 2017, from complications of interstitial lung disease and lung cancer. Coincidently, Barrett died the day before Trump was

inaugurated In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

as president. Barrett's writings on Trump continued to be relevant during the

Trump presidency Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...

and were a valuable resource for journalists during that time.

Selected bibliography

*''The Big Apple: City for Sale: Ed Koch and the Betrayal of New York'' (Harper and Row, 1988, ) (with Jack Newfield) *''Trump: The Deals and the Downfall'' (HarperCollins, 1992, ) *''Rudy!: An Investigative Biography of Rudolph Giuliani'' (Basic Books, 2001, ) *''Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11'' (HarperCollins, 2006, ; with Dan Collins) *''Trump: The Greatest Show on Earth: The Deals, the Downfall, the Reinvention'' (Regan Arts -bookApril 26, 2016, ASIN: B01ECUXPIM; Paperback Edition August 2016, )

References

External links

The Real Rudy: From the September print issue: The image of Rudy Giuliani as the hero of September 11 has never been seriously challenged. That changes now
''

The American Prospect ''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The American Prospect'' says it "is devoted t ...

online'' September 11, 2006
"Rudy Giuliani's 5 Big Lies About 9/11: On the Stump, Rudy Can't Help Spreading Smoke and Ashes About His Dubious Record"
''

'', August 8–14, 2007, pp. 22–36.
"Rudy's Ties to a Terror Sheikh: Giuliani's business contracts tie him to the man who let 9/11's mastermind escape the FBI"
''

'', November 27, 2007
Wayne Barrett Laid Off from ''Village Voice''
- video report by ''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Wayne 1945 births 2017 deaths American male biographers Writers from New Britain, Connecticut Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism faculty Saint Joseph's University alumni Journalists from Connecticut The Village Voice people American investigative journalists Newsweek people American male journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American biographers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American biographers Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni 20th-century American male writers Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Deaths from lung disease