Sherry Jones (filmmaker)

Sherry Lynn Jones (April 21, 1948 – February 14, 2022) was an American documentary filmmaker known for investigative documentaries about national security issues and politics. She wrote, directed, and produced many documentaries for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) program Frontline, winning awards for several episodes including High Crimes and Misdemeanors (1990) about the Iran-Contra Affair and Watergate Plus 30: Shadow of History (2003).

Sherry Lynn Jones
BornApril 21, 1948
Austin, Texas, US
DiedFebruary 14, 2022
Washington, DC, US
Alma materUniversity of Oklahoma (BA) Northwestern University (MA)
OccupationDocumentary filmmaker
SpouseAlan Stone[1]
This article is about the filmmaker Sherry Jones. For Sherry Jones, the American politician, see Sherry Jones. For Sherry Jones the author, see Sherry Jones (author).

Early life and education

Jones was born on April 21, 1948, in Austin, Texas. She graduated in 1970 from the University of Oklahoma and earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1971.[2][3]

Career

After graduation, Jones worked on political campaigns before starting her documentary filmmaking as a field producer for filmmaker Charles Guggenheim. By 1980, she launched her own production company called Washington Media Associates.[3]

As head of Washington Media Associates, she produced and directed documentary films for CNN, ABC, and PBS, collaborating with journalists such as Bill Moyers, Peter Jennings, and Hedrick Smith.[3] From 1983 until 2009, she produced over 20 films for Frontline.[4]

Between 1987 and 1991, Jones spent time in Moscow working on documentaries and learning Russian. Her film on the dissident Andrei Sakharov, In the Shadow of Sakharov (1991), used footage obtained from the Soviet Ministry of Atomic Power.[5]

Some of her best-known documentaries shined a light on scandals in Washington. Her films explored a range of subjects such as an in-depth analysis of the Iran-Contra Affair (High Crimes and Misdemeanors, 1990),[6] campaign finance violations in the 1996 elections (Washington's Other Scandal, 1998),[7] and an examination of the Nixon Administration through interviews with former White House aide Jeb Stuart Magruder (Watergate Plus 30: Shadow of History, 2003).[8]

The 2008 documentary, Torturing Democracy, produced in association with the National Security Archive where Jones was a senior fellow, detailed the use of torture by the Bush Administration during the War on Terror, and was one of the last films she produced before retiring from filmmaking.[3][9]

Death

On February 14, 2022, Jones died in a hospital in Washington, DC.[3]

Selected awards and honors

References
  1. "In Memoriam". Northwestern Magazine. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  2. "Sherry Jones". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  3. Smith, Harrison (2022-02-23). "Sherry Jones, Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, dies at 73". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  4. "PBS : Trade Secrets : Program Credits". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  5. Brennan, Patricia (1991-10-13). "A 'FRONTLINE' TRIBUTE TO ANDREI SAKHAROV". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  6. "High Crimes and Misdemeanors". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  7. "Synopsis | Washington's Other Scandal | FRONTLINE | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  8. "Watergate: What the President Knew". PBS NewsHour. 2003-07-28. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  9. "In Memoriam: Sherry Jones, 1948–2022 | National Security Archive". nsarchive.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  10. "The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards | Columbia Journalism School". journalism.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  11. "Women of Vision Awards". Women in Film & Video DC. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  12. University, Medill-Northwestern. "Sherry Jones – Medill – Northwestern University". www.medill.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  13. "Awards Recipients". OPC. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
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