Gary Lee (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Gary Lee is an award-winning American
journalist
with a particular focus on travel writing. He wrote for the Washington Post as well as Time Magazine. He speaks five languages including Russian
and he was the Washington Post's Moscow Bureau Chief. He won the Lowell Thomas Award for travel journalism for his coverage of 9/11. He was elected to the position of charter trustee at Phillips Academy
in 2009. In 2007, he left the Washington Post to become a freelance journalist.
and attended Phillips Academy
in Andover, Massachusetts
, sometimes taking bus trips from Oklahoma to Massachusetts, and getting off the bus in towns such as Terre Haute, Indiana
and exploring, before getting back on the bus a day later. Lee, in a later interview with travel writer Ross Potts, thought that his parents realized that he had a wanderlust
and urge to explore the world. Lee studied Russian
at Andover, and graduated with the class of 1974, the school's first co-educational class; among his classmates were many future writers, including poets
Chris Agee
and Karl Kirchwey
, writer Nate Lee
, publisher and activist Ted Nace
, editor Sara Nelson
, and political analyst and writer Heather Mac Donald
. Lee attended Amherst College
and graduated cum laude in 1979, and majored in Russian language.
. Later, he was hired by the Washington Post and became the paper's bureau chief in Moscow. In a later interview, he described the experience as both "brutal and exhilarating" since it forced him to "bang out long pieces on deadline almost daily". Later, he became a travel writer for the Post and, according to Lee's own accounting, he stayed in over a thousand hotel
s, motel
s, and bed and breakfast
s on assignments. He has camped out near the Potomac River
as well as taken the Trans-Siberian railway
in Russia. In his reporting, Lee advised travelers on such matters as getting around Moscow, ecologically correct hotels, safety on cruise ships, travel to Canada, dining options, avoiding hurricanes in the Caribbean
, tipping customs, private tour guides, and many other travel-related matters.
Lee was interviewed by travel writer Rolf Potts
who assembled a collection of "globe-trotting authors", including Lee in his blog "Rolf Potts' Vagabonding Blog". Lee advises would-be travel writers to learn a foreign language to help one "gain insight into how another culture ticks." In an interview, Lee described his approach to travel writing:
According to the Washington Post, he loves "exotic digestibles" such as "mare's milk in Mongolia." In addition to his writing, he owns two restaurants, one in Washington, D.C.
and one in Arequipa, Peru.
at the University of Colorado
. He lives in Washington, D.C.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
with a particular focus on travel writing. He wrote for the Washington Post as well as Time Magazine. He speaks five languages including Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and he was the Washington Post's Moscow Bureau Chief. He won the Lowell Thomas Award for travel journalism for his coverage of 9/11. He was elected to the position of charter trustee at Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in 2009. In 2007, he left the Washington Post to become a freelance journalist.
Education
Lee grew up in Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
and attended Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in Andover, Massachusetts
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
, sometimes taking bus trips from Oklahoma to Massachusetts, and getting off the bus in towns such as Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
and exploring, before getting back on the bus a day later. Lee, in a later interview with travel writer Ross Potts, thought that his parents realized that he had a wanderlust
Wanderlust
Wanderlust is a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world.-Etymology:The loanword from German language became an English term in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering that may be traced back to German...
and urge to explore the world. Lee studied Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
at Andover, and graduated with the class of 1974, the school's first co-educational class; among his classmates were many future writers, including poets
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
Chris Agee
Chris Agee
Christopher Robert Agee is a poet, essayist and editor living in Ireland. He holds dual American and Irish citizenship, and has spent most of his adult life in Ireland...
and Karl Kirchwey
Karl Kirchwey
Karl Kirchwey is a prize–winning American poet who has lived in both Europe and the United States and whose work is strongly influenced by the Greek and Roman past. He often looks to the classical world for inspiration with themes which have included loss, loneliness, nostalgia and modern...
, writer Nate Lee
Nate Lee
Nate Lee is an American author and former senior editor at Chicago's Newcity weekly magazine who advocated passionately for live theater. At Newcity, Lee wrote features, a weekly column called Urbanitie, theatre and film reviews as well as stories on architecture and historic preservation, and at...
, publisher and activist Ted Nace
Ted Nace
Ted Nace is an American writer, publisher, and environmentalist notable for his critique of corporate personhood and his anti-coal activism. He co-founded Peachpit Press from his house and grew it into a substantive publisher of computer–related books; it grew quickly, according to a report...
, editor Sara Nelson
Sara Nelson
Sara Nelson is an American publishing industry figure who is an editor and book reviewer and consultant and columnist and who is currently the book editor at Oprah's O Magazine. Nelson is notable for having been editor in chief at the book industry's chief trade publication Publishers Weekly from...
, and political analyst and writer Heather Mac Donald
Heather Mac Donald
Heather Lynn Mac Donald is an American political commentator and thinker notable for her advocacy of secular conservatism. She has advocated her positions on numerous subjects including crime prevention, immigration reform, academia, the art world, and politics. She is a prolific essayist...
. Lee attended Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
and graduated cum laude in 1979, and majored in Russian language.
Career
Lee worked at Time Magazine as a writer focusing on the environmentNatural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
. Later, he was hired by the Washington Post and became the paper's bureau chief in Moscow. In a later interview, he described the experience as both "brutal and exhilarating" since it forced him to "bang out long pieces on deadline almost daily". Later, he became a travel writer for the Post and, according to Lee's own accounting, he stayed in over a thousand hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s, motel
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
s, and bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
s on assignments. He has camped out near the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
as well as taken the Trans-Siberian railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
in Russia. In his reporting, Lee advised travelers on such matters as getting around Moscow, ecologically correct hotels, safety on cruise ships, travel to Canada, dining options, avoiding hurricanes in the Caribbean
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, tipping customs, private tour guides, and many other travel-related matters.
Lee was interviewed by travel writer Rolf Potts
Rolf Potts
Rolf Potts is a travel writer whose work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, the New York Times Magazine, Slate.com, Condé Nast Traveler, Outside, The Believer, The Guardian, National Public Radio, the Travel Channel, Salon.com and World Hum. His travel advice book Vagabonding, which has...
who assembled a collection of "globe-trotting authors", including Lee in his blog "Rolf Potts' Vagabonding Blog". Lee advises would-be travel writers to learn a foreign language to help one "gain insight into how another culture ticks." In an interview, Lee described his approach to travel writing:
According to the Washington Post, he loves "exotic digestibles" such as "mare's milk in Mongolia." In addition to his writing, he owns two restaurants, one in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and one in Arequipa, Peru.
Charity work and volunteering
Lee was elected to the position of charter trustee of Phillips Academy in 2009, and helps organize events such as Non-sibi day as well as hosting and speaking at alumni events. He received Andover's "Distinguished Service Award" in 1998. He's a member of the Ted Scripps Fellowships Advisory Board at the Center for Environmental JournalismEnvironmental journalism
Environmental journalism is the collection, verification, production, distribution and exhibition of information regarding current events, trends, issues and people that are associated with the non-human world with which humans necessarily interact...
at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado system is a system of public universities in Colorado consisting of three universities in four campuses: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, and University of Colorado Denver in downtown Denver and at the Anschutz Medical Campus in...
. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....