{{Short description|American professor and former journalist}} {{Infobox person | name = Christopher J. Harper | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|10|01}} | birth_place = Boise, Idaho | education = Bachelor's degree in journalism and English literature, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 1973<br> Master's degree in journalism, Northwestern University, 1974 | occupation = Print and television reporter, Educator | other_names = Chris Harper, Chris J. Harper | years_active = 1974 - 1995 | credits = ''Newsweek'' Beirut bureau chief (1979-1980)<br/> ABC News Cairo bureau chief (1981)<br/> ABC News Rome bureau chief (1981 - 1986) }} '''Christopher J. Harper''' is an American professor and former journalist.
== Early life and education == Born October 1, 1951, in Boise, Idaho, Harper graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism and English literature from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1973. He earned a master's degree in journalism in 1974 from Northwestern University.
== Career == As a reporter for ''Newsweek'', Harper reported on Jonestown, Guyana, in November 1978.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=30242 |title=Pulling Meaning From Rough Drafts: Jonestown in American History |first=Molly |last=Doris-Pierce |accessdate=25 July 2011 |archive-date=19 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919043143/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=30242 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His reporting was nominated for a National Magazine Award.{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}
As Beirut bureau chief for ''Newsweek'' in 1979-1980, Harper reported on the continuing Lebanese civil war and the Iran hostage crisis. He was expelled from Iraq in 1980 for his reporting about Saddam Hussein, whom Harper described as "The Butcher of Baghdad."{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}
As Cairo bureau chief for ABC News in 1981, Harper was expelled by Anwar Sadat in September 1981 for interviewing a previously expelled correspondent in Beirut.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/13/opinion/topics-reactions-over-and-under-cairo-truth.html |accessdate=25 July 2011 |title=Topics; Reactions, Over and Under; Cairo Truth |date=13 September 1981 |work=The New York Times }}</ref>
During his work as a correspondent and then bureau chief in Rome from 1981 to 1986, Harper reported on the 1981 plot to kill Pope John Paul II, 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon,<ref> {{cite web |url=http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=79401|accessdate=25 July 2011 |title=ABC Evening News for Sunday, Jul 04, 1982 |publisher=Vanderbilt Television News Archive }}</ref> the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks that left 241 soldiers and Navy seaman dead, and the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 for which he and his team were nominated for five Emmy awards.{{citation needed|date=July 2011}}
Harper joined ''20/20'' in 1986 and worked there until 1995.
He left the news business to teach journalism at New York University in 1995 and later at Temple University, where he headed the Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab. He now teaches multiple classes within the journalism department such as Journalism and the Law International Reporting, and Ethics of Journalism.
Harper has edited and written seven books, including one of the first about the digital age and its influence on journalism. The 1998 book, ''And That’s the Way It Will Be''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sessions Stepp|first=Carl|title=Taking the Measure of Online Journalism|url=http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=3450|publisher=American Journalism Review|accessdate=25 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212172915/http://ajr.org/Article.asp?id=3450|archive-date=12 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> His 2011 book, ''Flyover Country'', documents the history of his high school graduation class of 1969 from Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Harper wrote a column on the journalism industry for ''The Washington Times'' beginning in January 2013. His last column was published on Wednesday, May 27, 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/may/27/christopher-harper-kermit-gosnell-among-biggest-me/|title=CHRISTOPHER HARPER: Kermit Gosnell among biggest media hits, Bill Cosby among mashup misses|newspaper=The Washington Times|access-date=2016-11-06}}</ref>
Harper currently writes a weekly column for [http://datechguyblog.blog/ DaTechGuyblog] every [https://datechguyblog.blog/author/charper51/ Tuesday].
==Selected bibliography== * {{cite book |last = Harper | first = Christopher J. |title=And That's the Way It Will Be: News and Information in a Digital World |url = https://archive.org/details/andthatswayitwil00harp |url-access = registration |publisher=New York University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8147-3608-1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Harper|first=Christopher J. |title=Flyover Country: Baby Boomers and Their Stories |publisher=Hamilton Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7618-5332-9 }}
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Christopher J.}} Category:American male journalists Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:People from Boise, Idaho Category:University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Category:New York University faculty Category:Temple University faculty