Carlton Sherwood
Encyclopedia
Carlton Sherwood is an American journalist who produced the anti-John Kerry
film Stolen Honor
. Sherwood served on two news teams which were responsible for the award of the Pulitzer Prize
and the Peabody Award
to their organizations.
After working for the Unification Church
-owned Washington Times, he authored Inquisition : The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, a book about the United States v. Sun Myung Moon which involved Sun Myung Moon
, the leader of the same church.
Sherwood is a decorated Marine
veteran who served in Vietnam's De-Militarized Zone
.
In 1987, the Blinded American Veterans Foundation established the annual Carlton Sherwood Media Award to recognize "both journalistic excellence and those members of the media who have shown special interest in — and dedication to — the needs and concerns of American veterans."
public service gold medal
. The award was for a series investigating a fund-raising scandal involving the Pauline Fathers of Doylestown, Pennsylvania
and the Vatican
's role in the subsequent cover up. It was the first time this award was given to a wire service
.
Sherwood also was part of a team of reporters who documented abuse, neglect, and deaths among children, the aged, and the mentally ill cared for by Oklahoma's Department of Human Services. The investigation culminated with articles published by Gannett, a special report produced by Karen Burns and Bill Lichtenstein
which aired on the ABC News Magazine 20/20 entitled "Throwaway Kids
" and a report, "Oklahoma Shame", which aired on Gannett-owned TV station KOCO in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
. The series was honored with a 1982 Peabody Award.
(now WUSA) Channel 9 called "Vietnam Memorial: A Broken Promise?".
Bob Doubek, project director for the Fund, said that "It was a hit piece. All of Sherwood's stuff was conjecture, smoke and mirrors." To prevent a lawsuit, the station aired a retraction and donated $50,000 to the Fund. Sherwood was arrested and charged with illegally taping one of the subjects of the report, John P. Wheeler III, chairman of the Fund and special council to the chairman of the SEC. The charges against Sherwood were later dropped. An audit of the Fund by the General Accounting Office, made public in May 1984, concluded that Sherwood's charges regarding the Fund were baseless.
In December, the station refused to air another report by Sherwood criticizing the Fund. Sherwood quit and got a job for the Washington Times at a lower salary. A New York Times headline on this controversy read "Reporter's Project Ruins His Career". (July 17, 1984)
Sherwood's independence from the subject matter, however, was called into question. Sherwood had previously worked for the Washington Times, owned by members of the Unification Church.
In the story "The Resurrection Of Reverend Moon" (January 21, 1992), the PBS television series Frontline produced a copy of a letter addressed to Moon, written by James Gavin, a leader in Moon's Unification Church
. Gavin tells Moon he reviewed the "overall tone and factual contents" of the book before publication and suggested revisions. Gavin adds that "Mr. Sherwood has assured me that all this will be done when the manuscript is sent to the publisher." Gavin concludes by telling Moon, "When all of our suggestions have been incorporated, the book will be complete and in my opinion will make a significant impact.... In addition to silencing our critics now, the book should be invaluable in persuading others of our legitimacy for many years to come."
, which presented the viewpoints of a number of American Vietnam War veterans who contend that John Kerry
's anti-war activities harmed them. The journalistic standards of this piece were widely called into question. Sinclair Broadcasting planned to broadcast it on the eve of the general election, stating that they considered it to be newsworthy. After the ensuing controversy, Sinclair did not broadcast the film.
Stolen Honor was a project of Red, White and Blue Productions based in Harrisburg, PA
, whose public affairs are managed by Quantum Communications, a company owned by lobbyist Charles Gerow. In 2000, Mr. Gerow ran on the Republican ticket for Congress. In 2003, he was nominated by President Bush to be a Member of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission. Sherwood is the president of Red, White and Blue while Gerow acted as publicist for the film.
, whom George W. Bush
later appointed as the first Secretary of Homeland Security. Sherwood and Ridge met when Ridge was a Congressman and a key critic of the planned Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Sherwood was reporting negatively on the Memorial Fund. The Bush administration subsequently selected Sherwood to create and manage a new federal website, http://www.firstresponder.gov, aimed at first responders (police officers, firefighters, etc.).
Sherwood currently serves as Executive Vice President and Director of Communications of the WVC3 Group, Inc., an anti-terrorism, security firm headquartered in Reston, VA.
According to his profile on the WVC3 website, Sherwood "served as Special Media Advisor to the Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan Administration."
, Judicial Watch’s president. Sherwood had just returned from Iraq
and was invited onto the show to talk (via telephone) about the worsening security situation. At about 42 minutes and 10 seconds into the show, Sherwood said this:
"Every time I get up in the morning and I turn on the cable news and I see that one or two more of our soldiers have been killed it’s like a kick in the guts to me, personally. But it’s also a double whammy because I know what soundbite’s going to follow that. And you’re right. It’ll be some wannabe - a Presidential wannabe, or one of their aides, carping, almost gleefully, using your word, almost gleefully that, uh, this is one more evidence of a failure."
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
film Stolen Honor
Stolen Honor
Stolen Honor is a 45-minute video documentary that was released in September 2004. It features interviews with a number of American men who were prisoners of war in North Vietnam, who contend they suffered increased maltreatment while prisoners as a direct result of John Kerry's Fulbright Hearing...
. Sherwood served on two news teams which were responsible for the award of the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
and the Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
to their organizations.
After working for the Unification Church
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
-owned Washington Times, he authored Inquisition : The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, a book about the United States v. Sun Myung Moon which involved Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
, the leader of the same church.
Sherwood is a decorated Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
veteran who served in Vietnam's De-Militarized Zone
Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone
The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam as a result of the First Indochina War.During the Second Indochina War , it became important as the battleground demarcation separating North Vietnamese territory from South Vietnamese territory.-...
.
In 1987, the Blinded American Veterans Foundation established the annual Carlton Sherwood Media Award to recognize "both journalistic excellence and those members of the media who have shown special interest in — and dedication to — the needs and concerns of American veterans."
Award-winning reports
Sherwood, John M. Hanchette, and William F. Schmick, were responsible for the Gannett News Service winning the 1980 Pulitzer PrizePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
public service gold medal
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service has been awarded since 1918 for a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journalistic resources. Those resources, as well as reporting, may include editorials, cartoons, photographs, graphics,...
. The award was for a series investigating a fund-raising scandal involving the Pauline Fathers of Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Doylestown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 8,380. The borough is the county seat of Bucks County.- History :...
and the Vatican
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
's role in the subsequent cover up. It was the first time this award was given to a wire service
Wire Service
Wire Service is an American drama series that aired on ABC as part of its 1956-57 season lineup.-Synopsis:Wire Service focuses on three reporters for the fictional Trans-Globe wire service, which was similar to real-life news wire services such as the Associated Press and United Press International...
.
Sherwood also was part of a team of reporters who documented abuse, neglect, and deaths among children, the aged, and the mentally ill cared for by Oklahoma's Department of Human Services. The investigation culminated with articles published by Gannett, a special report produced by Karen Burns and Bill Lichtenstein
Bill Lichtenstein
Bill Lichtenstein is a print and broadcast journalist and documentary producer. Lichtenstein is president of the independent media production company, Lichtenstein Creative Media....
which aired on the ABC News Magazine 20/20 entitled "Throwaway Kids
Throwaway Kids
Throwaway Kids was a two-part investigative report airing on the ABC News magazine 20/20 in 1981.The report followed a nine-month undercover investigation by producers Karen Burnes and Bill Lichtenstein...
" and a report, "Oklahoma Shame", which aired on Gannett-owned TV station KOCO in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
. The series was honored with a 1982 Peabody Award.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
In a November 1983 four part series for Gannett-owned Washington DC television station WDMVWUSA (TV)
WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington, D.C.. Owned by the Gannett Company, WUSA is an affiliate of the CBS television network, and the longest-tenured affiliate of that network...
(now WUSA) Channel 9 called "Vietnam Memorial: A Broken Promise?".
- ...he "raised serious questions regarding the financial propriety" of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, a private organization that raised $9 million to build the wall. Sherwood reported that only $2.6 million had been spent and wanted to know where the rest of the money was.
Bob Doubek, project director for the Fund, said that "It was a hit piece. All of Sherwood's stuff was conjecture, smoke and mirrors." To prevent a lawsuit, the station aired a retraction and donated $50,000 to the Fund. Sherwood was arrested and charged with illegally taping one of the subjects of the report, John P. Wheeler III, chairman of the Fund and special council to the chairman of the SEC. The charges against Sherwood were later dropped. An audit of the Fund by the General Accounting Office, made public in May 1984, concluded that Sherwood's charges regarding the Fund were baseless.
In December, the station refused to air another report by Sherwood criticizing the Fund. Sherwood quit and got a job for the Washington Times at a lower salary. A New York Times headline on this controversy read "Reporter's Project Ruins His Career". (July 17, 1984)
Inquisition
In his book Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, Sherwood concluded:- "The Unification Church, its leaders and followers were and continue to be the victims of the worst kind of religious prejudice and racial bigotry this country has witnessed in over a century. Moreover, virtually every institution we as Americans hold sacred the Congress, the courts, law enforcement agencies, the press, even the U.S. Constitution itself was prostituted in a malicious, oftentimes brutal manner, as part of a determined effort to wipe out this small but expanding religious movement."
Sherwood's independence from the subject matter, however, was called into question. Sherwood had previously worked for the Washington Times, owned by members of the Unification Church.
In the story "The Resurrection Of Reverend Moon" (January 21, 1992), the PBS television series Frontline produced a copy of a letter addressed to Moon, written by James Gavin, a leader in Moon's Unification Church
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
. Gavin tells Moon he reviewed the "overall tone and factual contents" of the book before publication and suggested revisions. Gavin adds that "Mr. Sherwood has assured me that all this will be done when the manuscript is sent to the publisher." Gavin concludes by telling Moon, "When all of our suggestions have been incorporated, the book will be complete and in my opinion will make a significant impact.... In addition to silencing our critics now, the book should be invaluable in persuading others of our legitimacy for many years to come."
Stolen Honor
During the 2004 presidential campaign, Sherwood produced the anti-Kerry documentary Stolen HonorStolen Honor
Stolen Honor is a 45-minute video documentary that was released in September 2004. It features interviews with a number of American men who were prisoners of war in North Vietnam, who contend they suffered increased maltreatment while prisoners as a direct result of John Kerry's Fulbright Hearing...
, which presented the viewpoints of a number of American Vietnam War veterans who contend that John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
's anti-war activities harmed them. The journalistic standards of this piece were widely called into question. Sinclair Broadcasting planned to broadcast it on the eve of the general election, stating that they considered it to be newsworthy. After the ensuing controversy, Sinclair did not broadcast the film.
Stolen Honor was a project of Red, White and Blue Productions based in Harrisburg, PA
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, whose public affairs are managed by Quantum Communications, a company owned by lobbyist Charles Gerow. In 2000, Mr. Gerow ran on the Republican ticket for Congress. In 2003, he was nominated by President Bush to be a Member of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission. Sherwood is the president of Red, White and Blue while Gerow acted as publicist for the film.
Republican appointments
Sherwood formerly worked for Pennsylvania governor Tom RidgeTom Ridge
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives , the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania , Assistant to the President for Homeland Security , and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security...
, whom George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
later appointed as the first Secretary of Homeland Security. Sherwood and Ridge met when Ridge was a Congressman and a key critic of the planned Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Sherwood was reporting negatively on the Memorial Fund. The Bush administration subsequently selected Sherwood to create and manage a new federal website, http://www.firstresponder.gov, aimed at first responders (police officers, firefighters, etc.).
Sherwood currently serves as Executive Vice President and Director of Communications of the WVC3 Group, Inc., an anti-terrorism, security firm headquartered in Reston, VA.
According to his profile on the WVC3 website, Sherwood "served as Special Media Advisor to the Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan Administration."
Sherwood's criticisms of 'Presidential wannabes' in Nov 2003
On the 8th November, 2003, Carlton Sherwood appeared on the Judicial Watch Report Radio Show. The host was Tom FittonTom Fitton
Thomas J. "Tom" Fitton is an American activist. He is currently known as the President of Judicial Watch, a self-described "conservative, non-partisan, educational foundation." He previously worked for America's Voice and National Empowerment Television, the International Policy Forum, the...
, Judicial Watch’s president. Sherwood had just returned from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and was invited onto the show to talk (via telephone) about the worsening security situation. At about 42 minutes and 10 seconds into the show, Sherwood said this:
"Every time I get up in the morning and I turn on the cable news and I see that one or two more of our soldiers have been killed it’s like a kick in the guts to me, personally. But it’s also a double whammy because I know what soundbite’s going to follow that. And you’re right. It’ll be some wannabe - a Presidential wannabe, or one of their aides, carping, almost gleefully, using your word, almost gleefully that, uh, this is one more evidence of a failure."