Laurence I. Barrett

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Barrett in 1981

Laurence Irwin Barrett (born September 6, 1935[1]) is an American journalist and author associated with Time, for whom he worked from 1965 until his retirement in 1993.

Background and personal life[edit]

Barrett graduated from New York University (1956) and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (1957). He married Martha Patterson in 1988, his previous marriage having ended in divorce. [2][1] His first marriage of 25 years was to Paulette Singer Barrett.[citation needed]

Career[edit]

Barrett joined the New York Herald-Tribune in 1957[3] and covered New York City Hall issues for the paper from 1959 to 1962[4] before becoming its Washington correspondent.[5] He published The Mayor of New York, a novel, in 1965.

Barrett joined Time in 1965,[3] and, after being a senior editor for six years, returned to reporting in early 1975 as head of its New York office.[4][6] He was Time's White House correspondent from 1981 to 1985, and then its national political correspondent,[7] before becoming deputy Washington bureau chief.[6] He returned to the position of national political correspondent in mid-1991.[citation needed] Barrett retired from Time in 1993.[8]

Interviewing Ronald Reagan in 1981

In 1983 Barrett published Gambling with History: Reagan in the White House, based on "unusual access to internal deliberations" for a period of two years. Revelations included Richard Darman's successful attempt to stall the invocation of Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution when President Reagan was receiving treatment following the 1981 assassination attempt on him.[9] The book also revealed what became known as "Debategate" - the theft of papers by the Reagan campaign from the Carter campaign during the 1980 presidential election.[10]

Retirement[edit]

After his retirement in 1993, Barrett became vice president of a Washington public relations firm,[8][11] and a member of the Advisory Board of the Washington Center for Politics & Journalism.[12]

Books[edit]

  • The Mayor of New York, Doubleday, 1965
  • Gambling with History: Reagan in the White House, Doubleday, 1983

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b R. Reginald (1979), Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, A Checklist, 1700–1974, Volume Two of Two, contains Contemporary Science Fiction Authors II, Gale Research, p808-9
  2. ^ New York Times, July 25, 1988, His first marriage of 25 years was to Paulette Singer Barrett, with whom he has three sons; Paul, David, and Adam. Martha Patterson Wed To Laurence I. Barrett
  3. ^ a b John A. Meyers, August 28, 1978, A Letter From The Publisher
  4. ^ a b Time, October 20, 1975, A Letter From The Publisher, Oct. 20, 1975
  5. ^ Laurence Barrett, The Victoria Advocate, December 26, 1964, What Mr. McNamara Means
  6. ^ a b CNN, LAURENCE I. BARRETT
  7. ^ Robert L. Miller, Time, March 21, 1988, A Letter From the Publisher: Mar. 21, 1988
  8. ^ a b Laurence I. Barrett, Newsday, November 27, 1999, The Other Brother
  9. ^ William Safire, St Petersburg Times, June 7, 1983, The disturbing way the White House ignored 'Section 4'
  10. ^ Victor Wilson, The Telegraph-Herald, July 17, 1983, A 'Gambling' View of the White House
  11. ^ New York Times, August 22, 1999, WEDDINGS; Julie Cohen, Paul M. Barrett
  12. ^ Washington Center for Politics & Journalism, Advisory Board Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

External links[edit]