John Dougherty (journalist)

For other people named John Dougherty, see John Dougherty (disambiguation).

John Dougherty is an American freelance investigative journalist. Subjects he has reported on include: the Keating Five scandal and the S&L crisis, Arizona Governor Fife Symington III, the FLDS Church and its leader Warren Jeffs, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In 2010, he ran as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona.^[1]

John Dougherty
Education	Arizona State University
Occupation	Investigative Journalist
Children	Jed, Joey

Early life and education

Dougherty was raised in Fairfax, Virginia. He attended Arizona State University from 1974 to 1981. He graduated with two degrees: B.S. Journalism (1978) and B.S. Economics (1981).^[2]

Career

• Phoenix New Times from March 1, 1993, to September 1, 2006^[3]
• The Southwest Sage from August 1, 1992, to February 28, 1993^[3]
• East Valley Tribune from August 1, 1991, to July 31, 1992^[3]
• Half Moon Bay Review from August 1, 1990, to July 31, 1991^[3]
• Dayton Daily News from January 15, 1989, to August 1990^[3]
• East Valley Tribune from April 1, 1988, to January 15, 1989^[3]
• The Phoenix Gazette from June 1984 to April 1988^[3]
• The Washington Post intermittently from September 1978 to March 1984^[3]

Selected stories

The Keating Five

John Dougherty's May 21, 1989 front page piece in the Dayton Daily News broke the story of the Keating Five.^[4] His source was Edwin J. Gray, former chair of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.^[5][6] The subsequent congressional ethics committee hearings of Senators Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, John Glenn, John McCain, and Donald W. Riegle began in November of that year.^[7]

Governor Fife Symington

Two years later in 1991, John Dougherty was working for the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Arizona and was still very interested in the connections between politicians and the S&L crisis. He began looking into Arizona governor Fife Symington III and his role as a board member of Southwest Savings and Loan.^[4] He continued his coverage of Symington for over ten years, writing more than 66 articles on Symington. His coverage foreshadowed Symington's 1997 conviction on federal bank and wire fraud charges and resignation as Arizona governor.^[8]

Sheriff Joe Arpaio

John Dougherty began covering Joe Arpaio for the Phoenix New Times when he became sheriff in 1993. Dougherty was involved in a series of court cases with Arpaio that culminated in a 2008 decision^[9] to award the Phoenix New Times $40,000 in legal fees.^[10]

FLDS and Warren Jeffs

From 2002 through 2008, Dougherty investigated and reported heavily on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and exposed the actions of their leader Warren Jeffs. He wrote over 35 articles, appearing in the Phoenix New Times, The New York Times, and The Arizona Republic.^[11] This series garnered him national attention, including an interview on National Public Radio,^[12] and won him the Casey Medal in 2006.^[13]

Awards

• 1992, Arizona Press Club's Virg Hill Journalist of the Year^[14]
• 1994, Arizona Press Club's Virg Hill Journalist of the Year^[14]
• 1995, Arizona Press Club's Virg Hill Journalist of the Year^[14]
• Two-time winner of the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Reporting^[15][16]
• 1996, inducted into the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism Hall of Fame^[17]
• 2006, Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism^[13]

2010 Senate campaign

See also: United States Senate election in Arizona, 2010

Dougherty finished third in the four-way 2010 Arizona Democratic Senate primary with 24 percent of the vote.

References

1. Ken Bennett (25 June 2010). . Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
2. John Dougherty (20 June 2010). . Archived from the original on 9 May 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
3. Investigativemedia.com. . Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
4. Terry Greene Sterling (11 September 1997). "The Indomitable Dougherty". Retrieved 28 June 2010.
5. Dougherty, John (1993-07-14). "DeConcini & Keating". Phoenix New Times.
6. Dougherty, John (1989-05-21). "unknown". Dayton Daily News. {{cite news}}: Cite uses generic title (help) See also Preliminary inquiry into allegations regarding Senators Cranston, DeConcini, Glenn, McCain, and Riegle, and Lincoln Savings and Loan committee report, p. 126.
7. McCain and Salter, Worth the Fighting For, pp. 194–195.
8. "John Dougherty - Archives - Phoenix New Times". Retrieved 28 June 2010.
9. "No. 1 CA-CV 05-0768. - PHOENIX NEW TIMES v. ARPAIO - AZ Court of Appeals". Retrieved 28 June 2010.
10. Stephen Lemons (10 June 2010). "Arpaio Kicks $40K to New Times, Plus Benjamin Bratt Discusses His New Movie, La Mission, and His Opposition to SB 1070". Retrieved 28 June 2010.
11. Investigativemedia.com. . Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
12. NPR Weekend Edition Sunday (27 April 2008). "Gene Disorder Complicates Sect Custody Fight". NPR. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
13. New Times Staff (22 June 2006). "Dougherty Honored". Retrieved 28 June 2010.
14. Arizona Press Association. . Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
15. Arizona Press Association. . Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
16. Arizona Press Association. . Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
17. "The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication: Alumni Hall of Fame". Retrieved 28 June 2010.

External links

• official campaign site
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Investigative Media
• Articles by year in the Phoenix New Times