About Me

Summary:

I am an investigative journalist, covering mostly national security and intelligence. I am currently the Managing Editor for investigative news of Raw Story, Media; contributor to Alternet, and The Huffington Post, and other publications. My work has been referenced in most major news outlets online, in print, and in various reference collections, as well as scholarly works and historical books. I am not politically left or politically right, because I don't see myself as defined by such a narrow spectrum and because I refuse to be categorized in an artificially constructed world view when many positions that are the focus of each political platform are complex and nuanced.

Background:

I am a Jewish immigrant from the former Soviet Union, specifically from Odessa, Ukraine.  I spent part of my childhood behind the iron curtain and later, moving around various European countries as a refugee with my parents. Part of these travels included Austria and Italy.

Because of my overt criticism of President Putin, as well as my investigative work, I use my patronymic as my pen name instead of my given surname.  This affords my family a measure of privacy and it also honors my father because a derivative of the father's first name, which is Alexander.

Although I am mainly known for my reporting work, I am also a poet and essayist and have worked as Poetry Editor for the Cleveland Review, as well as local beat reporter for the Russian language Cleveland newspaper. I have my degree in English and creative writing, with plans to finish my doctorate in Russian literature. I speak Russian and Hebrew fluently and can get by with my French.

Influences:

My influences across genres are chess theory and such stylistic geniuses as Vladamir Nabkov, Nikolai Gogol, and Emily Dickinson. In addition, the school of magical realism has been the most influential on my creative writing in particular, including authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Alejo Carpentier, Isabel Allende, and Toni Morrison.

As a journalist, I favor the type of reporting called investigative journalism, specifically covering the beat of national security and intelligence, although not exclusively. Because I also write in other genres, I tend to describe myself first and foremost as a writer. In this regard my influences have been Upton Sinclair and Sonia Shah, both of whom are known for cross-genre writing with journalism on one side and creative and/or commentary writing on the other. But with regard to my hardcore investigative work, without question my influences are Seymour Hersh, Greg Palast, Jim Risen, and Edward R. Murrow to name a few.

Current Projects:

Although I spent the majority of my time working as an investigative journalist, I am currently working on two books. One is a collection of poetry and the other is historical fiction.  Although I have done some screen work, most notably on the documentary 911: Press For Truth - about the Jersey Girls and their fight to force an investigation into the attacks of September 11, 2001 - I am currently working on a documentary film project called Footnote 44, with Danny Schecter, Rory O'Connor, and others.

Articles and Commentary:

To view a selection of my articles and commentary, please click Here.

At-Largely Blog:

I started at-Largely as a blog by an investigative journalist for investigative reporters, opinion writers, citizen journalists, bloggers, and concerned readers to come together and discuss underreported stories, issues facing the craft of journalism, bounce ideas off one another, and express their opinions on various topics. I mix in some of my own very strong opinions, but don't make the mistake of reading my opinion entries as news articles.

Other:

To see at-Largely site news and my schedule of appearances, etc., please click Here.