On this day in 2018 Consortium News lost its founder and editor Robert Parry, who succumbed to cancer at 68. We look back on his life in this video of his memorial service held on April 14, 2018.
Bob’s wife, Diane Duston, introduced friends and colleagues to recount their memories of Bob, whose work impacted the nation.
The speakers are Lynn Neary, the NPR broadcaster; Spencer Oliver, a former Congressional staffer and one of Bob’s then unnamed Iran-Contra sources; Jill Abramson, the former New York Times executive editor and a long-time neighbor of Bob and Diane’s; Brian Barger, Bob’s partner at the AP on many Iran-Contra exclusives; Joe Lauria, the Consortium News editor-in-chief who also read a tribute to Bob from legendary journalist John Pilger, who was unable to attend; a video tribute from Oliver Stone, the filmmaker, and Bob’s two sons, Sam and Nat.
We present here a video of the entire memorial for the many admirers of Bob and his groundbreaking journalism. It runs one hour and seven minutes. Please click on “Watch on YouTube.” The National Football League has blocked the video from playing directly on Consortium News because it contains a very short clip of an NFL game.
Consortium News carries on thanks so very much to the Robert Parry family.
Video is available at:
Vimeo: hXXps://vimeo.com/265810657
Youtube: hXXps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEhu4leSamE
The article clearly explains the NFL’s action and the notice on the video clearly says it can be viewed on youtube and provides a link to it.
Fascinating, reading books about the political history of the last half-century, to see how often Robert Parry’s name comes up. He was an extraordinary man who lived through an extraordinary era.
Not long before his passing, Robert was interviewed by Dennis Bernstein on Flashpoints radio show (KPFA). The phone lines were opened and my call was accepted: I congratulated and thanked him on his excellent reporting on the Ukraine coup and cutting through the Russia Hysteria nonsense. His responses and comments were pure class and often with a bit of dry humor. I was very sad when I learned of his death.
On the bright side: Mr. Parry would be very happy to see that his legacy continues here on CN.
Robert Parry gave up a 6 figure income to start CN. Given his work ethic and journalistic skills it would have been a 7 figure income if he played ball with the media moguls. He knew it of course. We are all richer for his work. Thanks to his family and to all those who keep CN going.
Robert Parry was not only the great journalist, but exceptionally decent human being. I miss him so much
Well, his short life wasn’t wasted.
In these days where war, environmental degradation, and inequality are all coming to a head, Consortium News and Max Blumenthal’s The Grayzone (+Mintpress and many others) is giving an opposition a fighting chance.
And, It also helps me keep my sanity, amongst my war-mongering fellow citizens and fervent of The Cult of Mueller.
Parry was a great person.
The good die but yet the wicked thrive. A little less believing today.
What a shame that such great people have to die so early. They are most needed. I am feeling with his wife and his sons. What an untimely death and what a loss!
CN is the best site for everybody looking for the truth.
Thank you, Joe Laurie and friends for keeping CN going.
R.i.P. Robert Parry. Thank you for your great work.
Yes, his book about the October Surprise was very interesting and I have another of his that I have not read yet.
It is difficult to remember now that the 1980 presidential election was essentially deadlocked until it swung to Reagan after the one and only debate between him and Carter.
I do wonder if there is some connection between the October Surprise and the attempted assassination of president Reagan just a few short months later.
Russ Baker writes:
“Imagine my fascination, then, to learn that John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot and nearly killed President Ronald Reagan in 1981 — an attempt which, if successful, would have resulted in then-Vice President George H.W. Bush moving up to the top spot — was none other than a friend of the Bush family.
How strange is that? So strange that it literally caused NBC News’s anchor John Chancellor’s eyebrows to arch as he reported the curious connection.
The story was broken by the now-defunct Houston Post, and then picked up briefly by the AP and UPI wire services, and some newspapers, plus Newsweek.
Then it vanished without a trace or further inquiry or comment in the mainstream media.”
I first read about this in Roger Stone’s book about the Bush family. I was shocked and got hold of Baker’s book in order to verify the claim. What a small world!
Tony. it sounds to me like George H.W.’s adopted hometown paper pissed him off. He saw to it that wasn’t going to happen again and eventually “defuncted” them. Real news is not accepted out here when it comes to the Crime Family. I first read this in Russ’s great work on them. March 1981 was his date to make it official that he was the President, I feel, and this is the evidence. This was just slightly over three months after John Lennon was assassinated. One more thing I would like to add that goes without saying is Mr. Parry was a truly professional journalist. He provided clarity to the muck soup news that is printed out there almost every day, i.e. propaganda.
He is deeply missed.
A genuinely decent and truthful man.
America has very few such people.
Robert Parry spoke the truth about power and the powerful commercial media companies that aligned with Washington officialdom. He was basically blacklisted from the commercial media which once employed him when he was a reporter. He uncovered many stories which were meticulously researched and were based on evidence and facts that the main stream press refused to report. He reported on the Iran Contra arms deal which he concluded existed before Reagan’s election leading to the October Surprise and the election of the Regan Bush ticket ensured by a fait accomplie deal with Iran to keep the hostages hostages until after the national election. Congress was having none of that and cancelled the hearings abruptly for “some reason”. The reason was that they also knew what Robert Parry knew.
He started this website as a way to get published what nobody in Washington or in the press wanted to publish. Bob remained true to his journalistic training until the end. He cut across political loyalties and also reported on stories that negatively reflected on both major political parties. He was never a yes man or a corporate media tool unlike most of the official press.
Bob was willing to go it alone and establish a website where well researched non partisan news could be presented that was not aligned with any political party and which would present just the facts for readers seeking a viewpoint not aligned with a preconceived agenda.
Bob probably wrote as many stories in his days as editor of Consortium news about misdeeds by republicans as he did for misdeeds by democrats. He simply wanted to tell the truth which is so often buried by the main stream press.
Holy cow. The video embedded in this article was blocked specifically (by the NFL), but I could get it on Youtube. What gives?
Leroy
We’ll miss you, Bob. A giant.
Or rather, I should say we already miss you.
RIP to a great citizen of America and the world.
The NFL is a tax-exempt charity. That is good for society.
What a truly beautiful Celebration. Thank You. Thank You All!
I did a transcribe of Robert’s reflections, which were presented at the point of 1:07:16 in the Celebration:
~” My job was to get the story. So, I went out to get the story. And, the more obstacles that they put in my way, the more determined I sort of became to get it. Uh but, you pay prices, and in the real world you don’t always get, you don’t always get the story quite as easily as you would like to. (..chuckle, ,,smile..) … People knew that if they wrote those stories, that the White house didn’t want done, that they ran the risk of having their careers seriously damaged, and possibly ended in some cases.”
….
“To me the core responsibility of a journalist is to have an open mind towards any information that you might find, and to have no agenda, and to have no preferred outcome. In other words, I don’t care what the truth is. I just care what – the truth is. That’s the deal you make with your readers. .. You have to follow the leads, wherever they go. “~
Thanks for the reminder that we all owe it Robert Perry, one who was never dissuaded from his pursuit of the truth, that in turn we all must stand up, speak out and demand the truth.
Thank you so much for CN Bob, PEACE!
Much respect and gratitude to Robert Parry and his family.
Yes, RIP Bob Parry. Again thank you Parry Family for sharing this (and Bob) with us. I was able to attend the West Coast version and it was a highlight for me. I truly felt like I as with colleagues.
Joe Lauria, you’re doing a masterful job carrying on the well established Journalistic Tradition Of Robert Parry. Many Thanks to all…
By teaching selfishness and greed as the highest human values, capitalism becomes a school for crime. In the single minded pursuit of wealth, anything goes, including devastating wars and global theft impoverishing billions of victims. The endgame of capitalism is a dystopian world that will be even more horrible than what we are presently witnessing.
What worries me about this is piece is that its a year already! I could have sworn we lost Robert only a few months ago. Where has all the time gone? Perhaps even worse, things haven’t improved on the world stage since then. Were ghastly sites like integrity initiative and other outfits like news guard around last year? I don’t recall Robert having anything to say about them. Much has happened in the year since Robert Parry passed away and alas we shall never be able to hear his take on it. Still, look on the bright side, Consortium news is still here and they have some great writers.
RIP Robert Parry. A close friend of mine used to forward all Consortium News articles to me and was a huge fan of yours. He also succumbed to cancer in July 2018 at the age of 68. I imagine the two of you are having some good discussions these days with all that’s happening in this crazy world. I thank all of you for educating and informing us about what’s really going on. Peace.