# Elaine Shannon

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American journalist (born 1946)

Elaine Shannon Born (1946-11-16) November 16, 1946 (age 79) Gainesville, Georgia, U.S. Alma mater Vanderbilt University Harvard University Occupation Investigative journalist Spouse Dan Morgan Children 1 Website www.elaine-shannon.com

**Elaine Shannon** (born November 16, 1946) is an American [investigative journalist](/source/Investigative_journalist) and former correspondent for *[Newsweek](/source/Newsweek)* and *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))* considered an expert on [terrorism](/source/Terrorism), [organized crime](/source/Organized_crime), and [espionage](/source/Espionage).[1] Describing her also as "a leading expert on the evil alliances of drug kingpins and corrupt officials", *Newsweek* said Shannon "could rightly claim to be the [Boswell](/source/James_Boswell) of thugs and drugs."[2]

## Early life

Shannon was born in [Gainesville, Georgia](/source/Gainesville%2C_Georgia), on November 16, 1946.[3] She was an [English major](/source/English_major) at [Vanderbilt University](/source/Vanderbilt_University) where she graduated in 1968.[3][4] While a senior at Vanderbilt, Shannon began working for the *[Nashville Tennessean](/source/Nashville_Tennessean)* where she reported on [civil rights](/source/Civil_rights), [police brutality](/source/Police_brutality_in_the_United_States), and [prisoner abuse](/source/Prisoner_abuse).[3] In 1970 Shannon became the newspaper's [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), correspondent and covered the Senatorial campaign of [Albert Gore Sr.](/source/Albert_Gore_Sr.), the Presidential campaigns of [Richard Nixon](/source/Richard_Nixon) and [George McGovern](/source/George_McGovern_1972_presidential_campaign), and the [Watergate scandal](/source/Watergate_scandal).[3] She spent a year at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) where in 1974 she earned a [Nieman Fellowship](/source/Nieman_Fellowship) in journalism, then went to work for *[Newsday](/source/Newsday)* the following year.[3][4]

## Career

According to CNN, Shannon "has covered criminal justice issues, including international arms trafficking, drug trafficking and money laundering, organized crime, white collar crime, terrorism and espionage" since 1976.[3] She frequently speaks on issues related to [drug trafficking](/source/Drug_trafficking).[3] Through her reporting, Shannon has built "an extensive network of sources as she covered the FBI, DEA, Customs and Justice departments, intelligence and terrorism."[4]

She joined *Newsweek* in 1976 and covered the Presidential campaigns of [Jimmy Carter](/source/Jimmy_Carter) and [Walter Mondale](/source/Walter_Mondale).[3] In October 1986, she left *Newsweek* to finish writing her [*New York Times* best-selling book](/source/The_New_York_Times_Best_Seller_list) about the drug trade, *Desperados: Latin Drug Lords, U.S. Lawmen, and the War America Can't Win*.[3]

In April 1987, Shannon joined *Time* where she was a correspondent in their Washington, D.C., bureau.[3] She became a panelist on [PBS](/source/PBS)'s *[To the Contrary](/source/To_the_Contrary)* in 1993.[3]

## Books

Shannon is the author of four books. Her first, *Desperados: Latin Drug Lords, U.S. Lawmen, and the War America Can't Win*, sold over 130,000 copies.[3] *Publishers Weekly* stated that Shannon drew on 10 years of expertise covering the international drug scene for *Newsweek* to write about the 1985 [torture-murder](/source/Torture_murder) of [Drug Enforcement Administration](/source/Drug_Enforcement_Administration) agent [Enrique "Kiki" Camarena](/source/Kiki_Camarena).[5] In his review for the *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*, [Jonathan Kirsch](/source/Jonathan_Kirsch) called *Desperados* "a sock-in-the-eye work of reporting about America's losing struggle against the multinational, multibillion-dollar drug industry" [6] *Desperados* also served as the basis for [Michael Mann](/source/Michael_Mann)'s three-part miniseries *[Drug Wars: The Camarena Story](/source/Drug_Wars%3A_The_Camarena_Story)* broadcast on [NBC](/source/NBC) in January 1990.[3] The [docudrama](/source/Docudrama) received an [Emmy award](/source/Emmy_award) as the best miniseries of 1990.[3] A second miniseries based on *Desperados*, *Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel*, was broadcast on NBC in January 1992 was also nominated for an Emmy for best miniseries of 1992.[3][7]

*No Heroes: Inside the FBI's Secret Counter-Terror Force* was written with Deputy Assistant Director of the [FBI](/source/FBI) [Danny Coulson](/source/Danny_Coulson) and *The Spy Next Door: The Extraordinary Secret Life of Robert Philip Hanssen* was co-authored by journalist [Ann Blackman](/source/Ann_Blackman).[7]

Shannon's fourth book, *Hunting LeRoux*, was published in 2019 by [William Morrow](/source/William_Morrow_and_Company)/[HarperCollins](/source/HarperCollins).[4] The story discusses [Paul Le Roux](/source/Paul_Le_Roux) and the DEA's elite special operation group that tracked him in an effort to bring down his global criminal enterprise.[4] Shannon learned about Le Roux in [Afghanistan](/source/Afghanistan) while researching how warlords and terrorist groups were financed by the heroin trade,[4] and her sources included undercover DEA agents and informants.[8] Mann wrote the foreword of the book and as of 2019 had plan to develop it into a movie.[4] *Kirkus Reviews* called it a "painstaking, fascinating account of crime and punishment" and said Shannon did an especially good job presenting "how the American Drug Enforcement Administration pieced together its multiagency, multigovernmental case against Le Roux".[8] Jeff Ayers' review described the book as a "gripping account that is both well-written and exhaustively researched".[9]

## Awards

Shannon has won the [Association for Women in Communications](/source/Association_for_Women_in_Communications)' [Clarion Award](/source/Clarion_Award) and the [New York State Bar Association Award](/source/New_York_State_Bar_Association).[3] In 1992, Shannon and [John Moody's](/source/John_Moody_(journalist)) two-part [cover story](/source/Article_(publishing)) in *Time* about the [Cali cartel](/source/Cali_cartel) won the [Inter American Press Association](/source/Inter_American_Press_Association)'s IAPA-Bartolome Mitre Award for distinguished journalism.[3][10] Their story, "Cocaine, Inc.—The New Drug Kings", addressed the drug problem in the United States.[3][10]

## Personal life

Shannon lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Dan Morgan, author and correspondent for *The Washington Post*.[3][7] They have a son, Andrew.[3]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-HarperCollins_Publishers_1-0)** [HarperCollins Publishers](/source/HarperCollins). ["Elaine Shannon"](https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/elaine-shannon). *harpercollins.com*. HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Newsweek;_February_22,_2019_2-0)** Schilling, Mary Kaye (February 22, 2019). ["Global Crime's Shadowy Cyber Genius Revealed in Elaine Shannon's New Book, 'Hunting LeRoux'"](https://www.newsweek.com/paul-leroux-elaine-shannon-hunting-leroux-books-1337516). *Newsweek*. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-11) [***m***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-12) [***n***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-13) [***o***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-14) [***p***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-15) [***q***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-16) [***r***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-17) [***s***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-18) [***t***](#cite_ref-cnn.com_3-19) ["Elaine Shannon"](https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/analysis/bios/frames/time/dc.bureau/shannon.html). AllPolitics. *cnn.com*. CNN. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Vanderbilt_News_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Vanderbilt_News_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Vanderbilt_News_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Vanderbilt_News_4-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Vanderbilt_News_4-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Vanderbilt_News_4-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-Vanderbilt_News_4-6) Patterson, Jim; Read, Jan (August 20, 2019). ["On the Hunt: Elaine Shannon, BA'68, Investigative Journalist"](https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2019/08/20/on-the-hunt-elaine-shannon-ba68-investigative-journalist/). *Vanderbilt News*. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Publishers_Weekly_5-0)** [Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly) (October 1, 1988). ["Desperados"](https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-670-81026-0). *publishersweekly.com*. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Los_Angeles_Times;_November_30,_1988_6-0)** [Kirsch, Jonanthan](/source/Jonathan_Kirsch) (November 30, 1988). ["Book Review : 'Desperados'--a War We May Not Win"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-30-vw-509-story.html). *Los Angeles Times*. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-elaine-shannon.com_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-elaine-shannon.com_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-elaine-shannon.com_7-2) ["About the Author"](https://www.elaine-shannon.com/new-page-5). *elaine-shannon.com*. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Kirkus_Reviews_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Kirkus_Reviews_8-1) ["Hunting LeRoux: The Inside Story of the DEA Takedown of a Criminal Genius and His Empire"](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/elaine-shannon/hunting-leroux/). *Kirkus Reviews*. February 6, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Ayers_9-0)** Ayers, Jeff (February 26, 2019). ["Review: Takedown of Paul LeRoux is gripping true-crime tale"](https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/review-takedown-paul-leroux-gripping-true-crime-tale-61335319). *ABC News*. Associated Press. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-AP_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-AP_10-1) ["IAPA Announces Journalism Awards"](https://apnews.com/article/8f49d68383d05274edcf03c17b03a8e4). *AP*. July 27, 1992. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.elaine-shannon.com/)

- [LinkedIn profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaine-shannon-02055724)

- [Appearances on C-SPAN](https://www.c-span.org/person/?elaineshannon)

- [Cover Stories: New Kings of Coke](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,157350,00.html)

- [Interview with Dave Watson of davesaymoviesmatter.com](http://www.davesaysmoviesmatter.com/elaine-shannon-hunting-leroux.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Elaine Shannon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Shannon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Shannon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.