Michael Graczyk

{{Short description|American journalist (born 1950)}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael Graczyk | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1950}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Journalist, reporter | years_active = 1984–Present | website = }} '''Michael Graczyk''' (born 1950) is an American journalist.

He was formerly based in the Houston bureau of the Associated Press.<ref name=cnn>{{cite news | url=https://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/20/texas.execution.witness/index.html | title=Texas reporter's seen unrivaled number of U.S. executions | last=Alsup | first=Dave | date=July 20, 2009 | work=CNN | publisher=cnn.com | accessdate=October 22, 2009 }}</ref> Graczyk officially retired from the AP at the end of July 2018, but continues covering executions and other news stories for the agency as a freelancer.<ref name="Dart" />

During his career, Graczyk reported on a wide range of topics. However, he is most notable as the AP's designated representative to witness executions in Texas.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/802489.stm | title=Witness for the execution | date=June 23, 2000 | work=BBC News | publisher=news.bbc.co.uk | access-date=October 22, 2009 }}</ref><ref name=rcfp>{{cite journal | last=Litman | first=Mysty | date=May 1, 2001 | title=An AP reporter's tally: witness to 200 executions | journal=The News Media & the Law | publisher=Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press | volume=25 | issue=2 | pages=53 | issn=0149-0737 | oclc=3562814 | url=http://www.rcfp.org/news/mag/25-2/new-witnesst.html | accessdate=October 22, 2009 }}</ref> Since 1984, Graczyk has witnessed more than 450 executions, considered a macabre record for an American.<ref name="Dart">{{cite news |last=Dart |first=Tom |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/05/the-reporter-who-has-seen-over-400-executions-the-job-is-to-tell-the-story |title= The reporter who has seen over 400 executions: 'The job is to tell the story' |work=The Guardian |date=2018-08-05 |accessdate=2018-08-06 }}</ref><ref name=nytimes>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/business/media/21execute.html | title=One Reporter's Lonely Beat, Witnessing Executions | last=Pérez-Peña | first=Richard | date=October 21, 2009 | work=The New York Times | pages=A1 | accessdate=October 22, 2009 }}</ref><ref name=joyce>{{cite book | last=King | first=Joyce | title=Hate crime: the story of a dragging in Jasper, Texas | publisher=Pantheon Books | location=New York | date=2002 | edition=First | pages=[https://archive.org/details/hatecrimestoryof0000king/page/206 206] | isbn=978-0-375-42132-7 | oclc=48517167 | url=https://archive.org/details/hatecrimestoryof0000king | url-access=registration | quote=Mike Graczyk. | accessdate=October 22, 2009 }}</ref><ref name=witness>{{cite web | url=http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_media_witness_list.html| title=Media Witness List | date=October 28, 2011| work=Texas Department of Criminal Justice | publisher=(tdcj.state.tx.us) | accessdate=November 8, 2011}}</ref><ref>Using the TDCJ list, a "CTRL-F" search on Graczyk will provide a count of the number of times his name appears; since it appears only once per executed inmate listed, it can serve as an unofficial count of the number of executions he has witnessed.</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MICHAEL+GRACZYK-a11079 News reports by Michael Graczyk], via The Free Library

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graczyk, Michael}} Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:Capital punishment in Texas Category:Journalists from Houston Category:Associated Press reporters Category:20th-century American journalists Category:20th-century American male journalists