James M. Perry

James Moorhead Perry (1927–2016) was a 20th-century American journalist and author, who rose to prominence as a political reporter and columnist for the National Observer (1962–1977), and as the chief political reporter and correspondent of the Wall Street Journal (1977–1997). He was an analyst and critic of American politics, political journalism and military history.

Origins, education and early life James Moorhead Perry was born August 21, 1927, in Elmira, New York, and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Other writings

Perry was an early inside analyst and public critic of the U.S. journalistic establishment. He wrote books about the shortcomings of the media, about how poll-driven marketing reshaped American politics, and about costly fiascoes in the military throughout history. As an amateur historian and as an enthusiast about topics of the U.S. Civil War, Perry returned to book-writing toward the end of his career with the Journal.

Following his retirement from the Journal, Perry was a blogger, and wrote commentary on various topics—some of which has been used in journalism courses. For the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he wrote various columns on political and social topics—titled "Perry on Politics"—and a detailed remembrance of the Kennedy assassination. Perry's works are recommended reading by various academic institutions, including: the Columbia School of Journalism;

Books

Barry Goldwater: A New Look at a Presidential Candidate, (1964: National Observer)