Columbia Center for Oral History Portal > Oral history interview with Jane M. Mayer, 2013.Biographical NoteStaff Writer, The New Yorker.
Scope and ContentsBorn: 1955, New York, NY. Education: BA, Yale University, 1977. Career: stringer, Time magazine; reporter, The Weathersfield Weekly, Rutland Herald, The Black River Tribune, The Washington Star; political reporter and White House correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; staff writer, The New Yorker. Reminiscences: notable family members, including grandfather Allan Nevins; early education in ethics and history at Ethical Culture Fieldston School; study abroad in England as high school senior; experiences and influences at Yale University; decision to become a journalist; experiences working at The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Star; reporting in Washington, D.C. on 9/11; first stories written following 9/11; writing Landslide; reporting in West Berlin when Berlin Wall fell; writing Strange Justice with Jill Abramson; discussion with Arthur Schlesinger about torture under George W. Bush administration. Discussions: Ronald Reagan administration; Iran-Contra Affair; sexism at The Wall Street Journal; working and writing for The New Yorker; decision to begin writing The Dark Side; discovering the SERE [Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape] program; American Psychological Association and BSCTs [Behavioral Science Consultation Teams] roles in Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] interrogations; research processes and key characters in The Dark Side; Bush administration's War Council; influence of other books on The Dark Side; Bush administration's use of rendition in Sweden; public reaction to The Dark Side; Obama administration's policies on CIA black sites and torture; James Risen and Obama administration's relationship with journalists; importance of facts and ethics in modern Washington and digital age; significance of Senate Intelligence Committee report on torture and interrogation; repercussions of Obama administration's failure to release Uighur prisoners from Guantánamo; trip to Guantánamo.
Subjects- Detention of persons--Government policy--United States.
- Interviews.
- Mayer, Jane M., 1955---Interviews.
- Mayer, Jane M., interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr
- Military interrogation.
- Oral histories (literary works)
- Physicians for Human Rights (U.S.)
- Prisoners of war--Cuba--Guantánamo Bay Naval Base.
- Rule of law--United States.
- September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001--Influence.
- Terrorism (International law)
- Torture--Government policy--United States.
- Uighur (Turkic people)--Legal status, laws, etc.
- Unlawful combatants--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States.
- War on Terrorism, 2001-2009.
Access ConditionsCopyright by The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 2013. Permission required to cite, quote, and reproduce. Contact repository for information.
| |