Roy Gutman
Encyclopedia
Roy Gutman is an American journalist and author.
In 1966, Gutman graduated from Haverford College
with a major in History
. In 1968, Gutman graduated from the London School of Economics
with a masters degree in International Relations
.
Roy Gutman joined Newsday
in January 1982 and served for eight years as National Security Reporter in Washington
. While European Bureau Chief, from late 1989 to 1994, he reported on the downfall of the Polish
, East German, and Czechoslovak
regimes, the opening of the Berlin Wall
, the unification of Germany
, the first democratic elections in the former Eastern Bloc
, and the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia
. He is currently the Foreign Editor for McClatchy Newspapers in Washington, D.C.
.
Gutman's honors include the Pulitzer Prize
for international reporting, the George Polk Award for foreign reporting, the Selden Ring Award for investigative reporting, and a special Human Rights in Media Award from the International League for Human Rights
. While a diplomatic correspondent at Newsweek, he shared the Edgar Allan Poe award of the White House correspondents association.
Gutman was previously employed by the Reuters
news agency, serving in Bonn
, Vienna
, Belgrade
, London
, and Washington. He served as Bureau Chief for Europe
, State Department Correspondent, and Chief Capitol Hill Reporter. He has been a Jennings Randolph
senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace
.
In 1988, Simon & Schuster published his Banana Diplomacy: The Making of American Policy in Nicaragua 1981-1987. The New York Times
named it one of the best 200 books of the year, and the (London) Times Literary Supplement designated it the best American book of the year. Macmillan published A Witness to Genocide in 1993 (the Jerusalem Post called it an "indispensable" book on genocide
), and the U.S. Institute of Peace published How We Missed the Story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan in 2008.
Gutman is the chairman of the Crimes of War Project
, an attempt to bring together reporters and legal scholars to increase awareness of the laws of war. His pocket guide to war crimes, Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know
, co-edited with David Rieff
, was published by W.W. Norton in 1999 with a second edition in 2007. He was named one of "50 visionaries who are changing your world" by the Utne Reader in November-December 2008 http://www.utne.com/2008-11-13/50-Visionaries-Who-Are-Changing-Your-World.aspx.
, "should, in all fairness and honesty, be revoked".
In 1966, Gutman graduated from Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
with a major in History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. In 1968, Gutman graduated from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
with a masters degree in International Relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
.
Roy Gutman joined Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
in January 1982 and served for eight years as National Security Reporter in Washington
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....
. While European Bureau Chief, from late 1989 to 1994, he reported on the downfall of the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, East German, and Czechoslovak
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
regimes, the opening of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, the unification of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the first democratic elections in the former Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
, and the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. He is currently the Foreign Editor for McClatchy Newspapers 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....
.
Gutman's honors include the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for international reporting, the George Polk Award for foreign reporting, the Selden Ring Award for investigative reporting, and a special Human Rights in Media Award from the International League for Human Rights
International League for Human Rights
The International League for Human Rights is a human rights organization with headquarters in New York City.Claiming to be the oldest human rights organization in the United States, the ILHR defines its mission as "defending human rights advocates who risk their lives to promote the ideals of a...
. While a diplomatic correspondent at Newsweek, he shared the Edgar Allan Poe award of the White House correspondents association.
Gutman was previously employed by the Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
news agency, serving in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and Washington. He served as Bureau Chief for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, State Department Correspondent, and Chief Capitol Hill Reporter. He has been a Jennings Randolph
Jennings Randolph
Jennings Randolph was an American politician from West Virginia. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was the last surviving member of the United States Congress to have served during the first 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration.-Early life and career:Randolph was born in...
senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace
United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace was created by Congress as a non-partisan, federal institution that works to prevent or end violent conflict around the world...
.
In 1988, Simon & Schuster published his Banana Diplomacy: The Making of American Policy in Nicaragua 1981-1987. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
named it one of the best 200 books of the year, and the (London) Times Literary Supplement designated it the best American book of the year. Macmillan published A Witness to Genocide in 1993 (the Jerusalem Post called it an "indispensable" book on genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
), and the U.S. Institute of Peace published How We Missed the Story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan in 2008.
Gutman is the chairman of the Crimes of War Project
Crimes of War
Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know is a 1999 reference book edited by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Roy Gutman and David Rieff that offers a compendium of more than 150 entries of articles and photographs that broadly define "international humanitarian law", a subject that involves most...
, an attempt to bring together reporters and legal scholars to increase awareness of the laws of war. His pocket guide to war crimes, Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know
Crimes of War
Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know is a 1999 reference book edited by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Roy Gutman and David Rieff that offers a compendium of more than 150 entries of articles and photographs that broadly define "international humanitarian law", a subject that involves most...
, co-edited with David Rieff
David Rieff
David Rieff is an American polemicist and pundit. His books have focused on issues of immigration, international conflict, and humanitarianism...
, was published by W.W. Norton in 1999 with a second edition in 2007. He was named one of "50 visionaries who are changing your world" by the Utne Reader in November-December 2008 http://www.utne.com/2008-11-13/50-Visionaries-Who-Are-Changing-Your-World.aspx.
Criticism
Within the book Media Cleansing: Dirty Reporting Journalism & Tragedy in Yugoslavia, Roy Gutman is criticised extensively. He is accused of journalistic malpractice by its author Peter Brock. Retired New York Times reporter David Binder has stated the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, awarded to both Roy Gutman and John F BurnsJohn F. Burns
John Fisher Burns is a British journalist, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes. He is the London bureau chief for The New York Times, where he covers international issues. Burns also frequently appears on PBS...
, "should, in all fairness and honesty, be revoked".
List of books
- Banana Diplomacy, published in 1988
- Witness to Genocide, published in 1993
- Crimes of War: What the Public Should KnowCrimes of WarCrimes of War: What the Public Should Know is a 1999 reference book edited by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Roy Gutman and David Rieff that offers a compendium of more than 150 entries of articles and photographs that broadly define "international humanitarian law", a subject that involves most...
, Co-edited by David RieffDavid RieffDavid Rieff is an American polemicist and pundit. His books have focused on issues of immigration, international conflict, and humanitarianism...
, published in 1999 and again in 2007. - How We Missed the Story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan, U.S. Institute of Peace, published in 2008