[Photo by Michael Muller]
Tracy Dahlby, Professor, School of Journalism
Tracy Dahlby is primarily a print journalist who has been lucky enough over the years to also work on historical documentaries for television. He was co-creator and Series Director for The Fifties, an eight-hour documentary miniseries based on author David Halberstam’s best-selling book about America’s signature decade, which aired on The History Channel in 1997. He helped produce shows for SportsCentury, a 1999 ESPN series that examined the lives of the 50 greatest athletes of the 20th Century, for which he received a national Sports Emmy Award. Dahlby began working in documentaries when filmmaker Alex Gibney invited him to be Special Correspondent for The Pacific Century, a 10-hour series exploring America’s ties with Asia that debuted on PBS in 1992.
Dahlby’s career in journalism has mainly focused on international news, including stints as Tokyo bureau chief for The Washington Post and Newsweek, respectively, and as managing editor of Newsweek International in New York. A contributor to National Geographic magazine between 1993 and 2002, he specialized in writing about Asia. His book about Islamic fundamentalism in Southeast Asia, Allah’s Torch: A Report from Behind the Scenes in Asia’s War on Terror, was published in January 2005 by William Morrow. Dahlby earned an M.A. from Harvard University in East Asian studies in 1976. He is professor in Journalism at UT where he teaches writing and reporting, specializing in coverage of world affairs.
More Information
UT School of Journalism
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