On May 14, 1997, award-winning journalist Gary Webb appeared on Democracy Now! to discuss the harsh media reaction to his reporting in the San Jose Mercury News on the role of CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras collaborating with cocaine traffickers in the United States. Go to the Democracy Now! website to read the complete transcript, search the vast news archive, and to make a donation to support our daily, non-profit news program. Livestream weekdays 8-9am ET at http://democracynow.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Google+ and Pinterest.


Gary Webb Responds to Media Criticism Over CIA/Crack Story (1997)

On May 11, 1998, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb 
appeared on Democracy Now! to discuss his new book, "Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion," based on his explosive series in the San Jose Mercury News. Go to the Democracy Now! website to read the complete transcript, search the vast news archive, and to make a donation to support our daily, non-profit news program. Livestream weekdays 8-9am ET at http://democracynow.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Google+ and Pinterest.

Gary Webb on "Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine" (1998)

The new Hollywood film "Kill The Messenger" tells the story of Gary Webb, one of the most maligned figures in investigative journalism. Webb's explosive 1996 investigative series "Dark Alliance" for the San Jose Mercury News revealed ties between the CIA, Nicaraguan contras and the crack cocaine trade ravaging African-American communities. The exposé provoked protests and congressional hearings, as well as a fierce reaction from the media establishment, which went to great lengths to discredit Webb's reporting. We revisit Webb’s story with an extended clip from the documentary "Shadows of Liberty," and speak with Robert Parry, a veteran investigative journalist who advised Webb before he published the series. Hear all the Democracy Now! interviews with Gary Webb from 1997 and 1998 in our archive at http://democracynow.org. Follow Democracy Now! on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Google+ and Pinterest.

"Kill the Messenger" Resurrects Gary Webb, Journalist Maligned for Exposing CIA Ties to Crack Trade

Marc Levin Director of the new Al Jazeera Documentary “Freeway: Crack in the System”.  In the early 80’s crack cocaine made its debut on the streets of South Los Angeles wreaking havoc on an already vulnerable Black community suffering from police repression and economic depression. 

From the rise of Freeway Ricky Ross who made his name as a prolific drug dealer, to the connection between the CIA, the Reagan administration, and Nicaraguan drug traffickers, Marc Levin joins us to discuss this under-reported, misrepresented and often ignored chapter of US history.


January 14, 2015: Marc Levin

Rick Donnell Ross better known as “Freeway” Ricky Ross and Cornell “Coach” Ward  join us for a special in studio discussion about their role in the explosion of crack cocaine that hit US streets in the early 80’s.  Freeway Rick is the subject of a new documentary film, directed by filmmaker Marc Levin titled “Freeway: Crack in the System” that chronicles early days of the crack epidemic and the role played by Nicaraguan drug traffickers in bringing the drug to the US with the tacit support of the Central Intelligence Agency during the Reagan administration.

January 22, 2015: Freeway Rick Ross and Cornell "Coach" Ward 1-HR In-Studio Special

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Gary Webb on "Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine" (1998)

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