This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/business/media/christopher-dickey-dead.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Christopher Dickey, Longtime Foreign Correspondent, Dies at 68 Christopher Dickey, Longtime Foreign Correspondent, Dies at 68
(about 4 hours later)
Christopher Dickey, a foreign correspondent and editor whose authoritative dispatches on war, terrorism and espionage spanned continents and decades, died on Thursday in Paris. He was 68.Christopher Dickey, a foreign correspondent and editor whose authoritative dispatches on war, terrorism and espionage spanned continents and decades, died on Thursday in Paris. He was 68.
His death was reported by The Daily Beast, where he worked as the foreign editor. The cause was not immediately known, but his death was unexpected.His death was reported by The Daily Beast, where he worked as the foreign editor. The cause was not immediately known, but his death was unexpected.
Colleagues and competitors recalled Mr. Dickey as a giant of the international press, whose mastery of sourcing and extensive travels made him one of the most knowledgeable writers on world affairs. He was said to be an enthusiastic mentor to young journalists, fine-tuning their copy and regaling them with stories of his past. Colleagues and competitors recalled Mr. Dickey as a giant of the international press, whose mastery of sourcing and extensive travels made him among the most knowledgeable writers on world affairs. He was said to be an enthusiastic mentor to young journalists, fine-tuning their copy and regaling them with stories of his past.
Brian Williams, in an on-air tribute on MSNBC, said Mr. Dickey, who regularly appeared on that channel, was “one of those great and curious storytellers who seemed to know just about everything and everyone.”Brian Williams, in an on-air tribute on MSNBC, said Mr. Dickey, who regularly appeared on that channel, was “one of those great and curious storytellers who seemed to know just about everything and everyone.”
Mr. Dickey’s range as a writer and reporter was evident in the seven books he published. His first, “With the Contras: A Reporter in the Wilds of Nicaragua” (1986), recalled his days covering conflict there. He wrote nonfiction books about foreigners in Arabia in 1990, counterintelligence efforts by the New York Police Department in 2009 and, in 2015, an Englishman’s role in the Confederacy during the Civil War. He also published novels in 1997 and 2004. His range as a writer and reporter was evident in the seven books he published. His first, “With the Contras: A Reporter in the Wilds of Nicaragua” (1986), recalled his days covering conflict there. He wrote nonfiction books about foreigners in Arabia in 1990, counterintelligence efforts by the New York Police Department in 2009 and an Englishman’s role in the Confederacy during the Civil War in 2015. He also published novels in 1997 and 2004.
In “Summer of Deliverance,” published in 1998, Mr. Dickey, born in 1951, offered a brutally honest memoir of growing up as the son of James Dickey, the former poet laureate who wrote the best-selling novel “Deliverance.” Describing his struggles to cope with his father’s alcoholism and abusiveness, he explained that he had become a foreign correspondent partly to get far away from home. His mother, Maxine Dickey, died in 1976, when she was 50. In “Summer of Deliverance,” published in 1998, Mr. Dickey, born in 1951, offered a brutally honest memoir of growing up as the son of James Dickey, the former poet laureate who wrote the best-selling novel “Deliverance.” Describing his struggles to cope with his father’s alcoholism and abusiveness, he explained that he became a foreign correspondent partly to get far away from home. His mother, Maxine Dickey, died in 1976, when she was 50.
“Dickey has done a remarkable job of picking his way through a minefield of emotions, knitting together a dangerous present and a painful past,” Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of The New York Times wrote in a review.“Dickey has done a remarkable job of picking his way through a minefield of emotions, knitting together a dangerous present and a painful past,” Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of The New York Times wrote in a review.
A graduate of the University of Virginia, Mr. Dickey began his international reporting career in 1980 with The Washington Post covering Central America; he later moved to the Middle East. He covered Egypt and France for Newsweek, and he worked in Paris for The Daily Beast until his death. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Mr. Dickey began his international reporting career in 1980 with The Washington Post covering Central America, later moving to the Middle East. He covered Egypt and France for Newsweek, and he worked in Paris for The Daily Beast until his death.
He reported from at least 42 countries, including El Salvador,. John Avlon, a former editor of The Daily Beast, said on Thursday that he had once asked if Mr. Dickey had read the celebrated writer Joan Didion’s book “Salvador,” to which Mr. Dickey responded without pretense: “Yes. It’s dedicated to me.”
Asked for advice for potential foreign correspondents, Mr. Dickey told the Overseas Press Club of America: “Learn languages, but, more importantly, learn cultures. The two are inseparable.”
Mr. Dickey, who wrote for The New York Times’s books section as recently as March, is survived by his wife, Carol; a son, James; his sister, Bronwen Dickey; a brother, Kevin; and three grandchildren.Mr. Dickey, who wrote for The New York Times’s books section as recently as March, is survived by his wife, Carol; a son, James; his sister, Bronwen Dickey; a brother, Kevin; and three grandchildren.
Asked what advice he would give to aspiring foreign correspondents, Mr. Dickey once told the Overseas Press Club of America: “Learn languages, but more importantly learn cultures. The two are inseparable.”
He reported from at least 42 countries, including El Salvador. John Avlon, a former editor of The Daily Beast, said on Thursday that he had once asked if Mr. Dickey had read Joan Didion’s book “Salvador,” to which Mr. Dickey responded without pretense: “Yes. It’s dedicated to me.”