Claudia Rosett (May 29, 1955 – May 27, 2023) was an American author and journalist. An editorial board member of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', she was the only print journalist to witness the

Tiananmen Square massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

and later broke the United Nations’

Oil for Food The Oil-for-Food Programme (OIP) was established by the United Nations in 1995 (under UN Security Council Resolution 986) to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Ir ...

scandal, the largest public fraud in history. After her ''Journal'' career in Hong Kong, Moscow, and New York, she wrote a foreign affairs column for ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', blogged for

PJ Media PJ Media, originally known as Pajamas Media, is an American right-wing subscription-based commentary website. It was founded in 2004, with its majority owner being software entrepreneur, billionaire and angel investor Aubrey Chernick, founder o ...

, and made regular appearances on national television and radio, including

Fox Business Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American conservative business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios ...

. She also worked for the

Independent Women's Forum The Independent Women's Forum (IWF) is an American conservative, non-profit organization focused on economic policy issues of concern to women.London Center for Policy Research, and served as an adjunct fellow at the

Hudson Institute Hudson Institute is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Kahn ...

Background

Rosett earned a BA in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1976, an MA in English at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1979, and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1981.Rosett's biography
at the FDD website Rosett joined ''

'' in 1984, and was named editorial page

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

at ''

The Asian Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal Asia'', a version of ''The Wall Street Journal'', was a newspaper that provided news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience. Formerly known as ''The Asian Wall Street Journal'', it was founde ...

'' in Hong Kong in 1986. In 1996, she worked in Moscow, first as a reporter for the ''Journal'', then as Moscow Bureau Chief, before taking leave to live in India. In 1997, she returned to New York, where she served on the editorial board of ''The Wall Street Journal'' until 2002. She wrote a regular column, "The Real World,” for ''

The Wall Street Journal Europe ''The Wall Street Journal Europe'' was a daily English-language newspaper that covered global and regional business news for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Published by the Dow Jones & Company, a News Corp company, it formed as a pa ...

'' and

OpinionJournal.com ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

from July 2000 to December 2005. In 1990, she received an

Overseas Press Club The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...

Citation for Excellence in recognition of her on-the-scene reporting of the

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

.Rosett's biography
(not up to date) at ''

'' website In 1994 she broke the full story of North Korean labor camps in the Russian Far East, reporting from the camps. She also broke the U.N.'s

scandal. Rosett, also contributed to ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', ''

Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'' and ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...

'', among others. Rosett died on May 27, 2023, at the age of 67.

On the United Nations

Rosett was a frequent critic of corruption in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. In 2004 and 2005, she wrote a series of articles exposing the corruption behind the U.N.'s Oil-for-Food program. As Michael Barone, a senior writer at '' U.S. News & World Report'', explained:

The U.N. Oil for Food program, we learn from the reporting of Claudia Rosett in ''The Wall Street Journal'', was a rip-off on the order of $21 billion—with money intended for hungry Iraqis going instead to Saddam Hussein and his henchmen, to bribed French and Russian businesses and, evidently, to the U.N.'s own man in charge, Benon Sevan. For this work, she was honored with the 2005 Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism and a "Mightier Pen" award from the Center for Security Policy."Honoring Claudia Rosett's Mighty Pen"
by Gary Shapiro, ''
The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative Online newspaper, news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) onlin ...
'', December 15, 2005

In June and July 2006, Rosett covered the trial of

Tongsun Park Tongsun Park (; March 16, 1935 – September 19, 2024) was a South Korean lobbyist. He was involved in two political money-related scandals: Koreagate scandal in the 1970s, and the Oil-for-Food Program scandal of the 2000s. Park had a reputati ...

via a

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

at the ''

s website.

References

External links

Rosett's biography
at the FDD website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosett, Claudia 1955 births 2023 deaths Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni The Wall Street Journal people Yale University alumni