Wayne Barrett


Wayne Barrett was an American journalist. He worked as an investigative reporter and senior editor for The Village Voice 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, and was raised in Lynchburg, Virginia. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Saint Joseph's University and a Master of Arts from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Career

Barrett was a Fellow with The Nation Institute and contributor to Newsweek. He also served as an adjunct faculty member at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism for over thirty years. Barrett authored many articles and books about politicians, including New York City figures such as Ed Koch, Donald Trump, and Rudy Giuliani. 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 was under construction, his two-part series led to the impaneling of a federal grand jury 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, . 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 at the University of Texas at Austin.

Death

Barrett died in Manhattan on January 19, 2017 from complications of interstitial lung disease and lung cancer.

Selected bibliography