Mark Nykanen: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|American journalist (1951/1952 – 2022)}} |
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{{Infobox person |
{{Infobox person |
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| name = Mark Nykanen |
| name = Mark Nykanen |
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| birth_date = 1951 |
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| birth_place = [[New York City]], U.S. |
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| death_date = {{death date|2022|9|16}} (aged 70) |
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| death_place = |
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| occupation = Writer |
| occupation = Writer |
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| awards = [[Edgar Award]]<br>[[Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award]]<br>[[Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism]] |
| awards = [[Edgar Award]]<br>[[Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award]]<br>[[Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism]] |
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| citizenship = American and Canadian |
| citizenship = American and Canadian |
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| spouse = Lucinda Taylor |
| spouse = Lucinda Taylor |
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| website = {{url|http://www.marknykanen.com/}} |
| website = {{url|https://web.archive.org/web/20190327235811/http://www.marknykanen.com/}} |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Mark Nykanen''' |
'''Mark Nykanen''' (1951 – September 16, 2022)<ref>[https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/timescolonist/name/mark-nykanen-obituary?pid=202902096 Mark Nykanen]</ref> was an American novelist and journalist. Nykanen began his career as a journalist for ''New Times Weekly'' in Phoenix, before becoming a news director at [[KDKB]] radio and news anchor for Arizona PBS. He then received four Emmy awards for his work as an on-air correspondent at ''[[NBC News]]''; an [[Edgar Award|Edgar Allan Poe Award]] for writing the NBC documentary ''Silent Shame: The Sexual Abuse of Children''; and shared a [[Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award|Dupont-Columbia Award]] for Investigative Journalism. After NBC, Nykanen served as the Press Secretary for California Governor [[Jerry Brown]]’s 1992 campaign for the Democratic nomination for President. He later became an author, publishing five novels under his own name and two under the pseudonym James Jaros. |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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During the 1970s Nykanen was a reporter for Phoenix’s ''New Times Weekly''.<ref name=B>{{cite web |url=http://www.bellebooks.com/shopcontent.asp?type=marknykanen|publisher=Belle Books |title=Biography: Mark Nykanen}}</ref> One of his first prominent news investigations was into the [[Arizona State Prison Complex – Florence]], where his undercover work saw him banned from the facility,<ref name=T>{{cite news |url=http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1998/05/23/183005-book-signing/|title=Book Signing |publisher=The Tucson Citizen |date=May 23, 1998|author=A.J. Flick}}</ref> and his articles clipped from newspapers before they were distributed to the inmates, in an attempt to suppress his discoveries. His prison reporting contributed to the [[United States Commission on Civil Rights|U.S. Commission on Civil Rights]] investigation of the inhumane conditions of prisons in Arizona.<ref name=B /> Nykanen then became an on-air news reporter and news director for [[KDKB]] radio in Phoenix,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/kdkb-at-20in-the-hands-of-bill-compton-the-station-shaped-a-generation-then-fell-victim-to-its-own-success-6431840|title=KDKB AT 20IN THE HANDS OF BILL COMPTON, THE STATION SHAPED A GENERATION--THEN FELL VICTIM TO ITS OWN SUCCESS|author=DAVE WALKER |date=November 13, 1991 |publisher=The Phoenix New Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/119588038/|title=Auxiliary|publisher=The Arizona Republic|date=September 7, 1977}}</ref> and he was later the news anchor for the Arizona Weekly television broadcast on [[KAET]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/119938999/|title=Tonight's Viewing |publisher=The Arizona Republic |date=June 12, 1980}}</ref> During this time he received several Arizona Press Club Awards in print, radio, and television, including an investigation into the Arizona Revenue Department that led to the resignation of several of its top officials.<ref name=B /> |
During the 1970s Nykanen was a reporter for Phoenix’s ''New Times Weekly''.<ref name=B>{{cite web |url=http://www.bellebooks.com/shopcontent.asp?type=marknykanen|publisher=Belle Books |title=Biography: Mark Nykanen}}</ref> One of his first prominent news investigations was into the [[Arizona State Prison Complex – Florence]], where his undercover work saw him banned from the facility,<ref name=T>{{cite news |url=http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1998/05/23/183005-book-signing/|title=Book Signing |publisher=The Tucson Citizen |date=May 23, 1998|author=A.J. Flick}}</ref> and his articles clipped from newspapers before they were distributed to the inmates, in an attempt to suppress his discoveries. His prison reporting contributed to the [[United States Commission on Civil Rights|U.S. Commission on Civil Rights]] investigation of the inhumane conditions of prisons in Arizona.<ref name=B /> Nykanen then became an on-air news reporter and news director for [[KDKB]] radio in Phoenix,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/kdkb-at-20in-the-hands-of-bill-compton-the-station-shaped-a-generation-then-fell-victim-to-its-own-success-6431840|title=KDKB AT 20IN THE HANDS OF BILL COMPTON, THE STATION SHAPED A GENERATION--THEN FELL VICTIM TO ITS OWN SUCCESS|author=DAVE WALKER |date=November 13, 1991 |publisher=The Phoenix New Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/119588038/|title=Auxiliary|publisher=The Arizona Republic|date=September 7, 1977}}</ref> and he was later the news anchor for the Arizona Weekly television broadcast on [[KAET]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/119938999/|title=Tonight's Viewing |publisher=The Arizona Republic |date=June 12, 1980}}</ref> During this time he received several Arizona Press Club Awards in print, radio, and television, including an investigation into the Arizona Revenue Department that led to the resignation of several of its top officials.<ref name=B /> |
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In 1980, Nykanen began working for NBC News as a correspondent, and continued his investigative journalism. In September, 1982, he began working on a documentary uncovering an international ring of child pornography and prostitution that spanned from Holland and Denmark to the American Midwest. The documentary was aired nationwide on NBC as an hour-long special under the title ''Silent Shame: The Sexual Abuse of Children''.<ref name=B /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google. |
In 1980, Nykanen began working for NBC News as a correspondent, and continued his investigative journalism. In September, 1982, he began working on a documentary uncovering an international ring of child pornography and prostitution that spanned from Holland and Denmark to the American Midwest. The documentary was aired nationwide on NBC as an hour-long special under the title ''Silent Shame: The Sexual Abuse of Children''.<ref name=B /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5jXBJy7UoQC&pg=PT202|page=202 |title=Freed to Kill: The True Story of Serial Murderer Larry Eyler |author=Gera-Lind Kolarik, Wayne Klatt |publisher=Garrett County Press|year=2012|isbn=9781939430007 }}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the broadcast, “as good an examination of a difficult topic as we are likely to see on television.”<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/24/movies/tv-weekend-sexual-abuse-of-children.html|title=TV WEEKEND; SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN |author=JOHN CORRY |work=The New York Times |date=August 24, 1984}}</ref> During the documentary, Nykanen interviewed child molesters on camera and connected them to the lucrative child pornography industry.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0823/082309.html|title=A discreet and in-depth look at sexual abuse of children|publisher=The Christian Science Monitor|author=Arthur Unger |date=August 23, 1984}}</ref> The show was awarded the [[Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism|Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism in the Programs category]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://emmyonline.com/download/1984-Nomination_Winners.pdf |publisher=Emmy Awards Online |title=1984 Nominations and Winners}}</ref> |
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During the 1980s, Nykanen broadcast other reports on ''[[NBC Nightly News]]''. In 1982, he was nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Investigative Journalism, Segments category for his report ''Land Hustles''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://emmyonline.com/download/1982-Nomination_Winners.pdf|publisher=Emmy Awards Online |title=1982 Nominations and Winners}}</ref> In 1983 Nykanen uncovered the use of German Nazis as US spies in the days following World War Two.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000100370056-1.pdf|title=NBC Nightly News - 9 June 1983|publisher=CIA Online}}</ref> He also headed the investigative reporting unit for the NBC television news magazine ''[[Monitor (U.S. TV series)|Monitor]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/66306748/|title=First Camera |date=September 25, 1983 |publisher=The San Bernardino County Sun}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/08/11/TV-WorldNEWLNNBC-News-preparing-for-all-new-season/4534429422400/|title=TV World;NEWLN:NBC News preparing for all-new season |author=JULIANNE HASTINGS |publisher=UPI|date=August 11, 1983}}</ref> |
During the 1980s, Nykanen broadcast other reports on ''[[NBC Nightly News]]''. In 1982, he was nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Investigative Journalism, Segments category for his report ''Land Hustles''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://emmyonline.com/download/1982-Nomination_Winners.pdf|publisher=Emmy Awards Online |title=1982 Nominations and Winners}}</ref> In 1983 Nykanen uncovered the use of German Nazis as US spies in the days following World War Two.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000100370056-1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123173648/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000100370056-1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 23, 2017|title=NBC Nightly News - 9 June 1983|publisher=CIA Online}}</ref> He also headed the investigative reporting unit for the NBC television news magazine ''[[Monitor (U.S. TV series)|Monitor]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/66306748/|title=First Camera |date=September 25, 1983 |publisher=The San Bernardino County Sun}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/08/11/TV-WorldNEWLNNBC-News-preparing-for-all-new-season/4534429422400/|title=TV World;NEWLN:NBC News preparing for all-new season |author=JULIANNE HASTINGS |publisher=UPI|date=August 11, 1983}}</ref> |
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In 1985, Nykanen won the Emmy for Investigative Journalism in the Segments category for his on-camera reporting for ''Military Medicine'', an |
In 1985, Nykanen won the Emmy for Investigative Journalism in the Segments category for his on-camera reporting for ''Military Medicine'', an exposé on malpractice in the U.S. military that aired on ''NBC Nightly News''. Nykanen also investigated the use of dangerous pesticides and the regulatory failures of the [[FDA]], for which he won an Emmy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://emmyonline.com/download/1985-Nomination_Winners.pdf|publisher=Emmy Awards Online |title=1985 Nominations and Winners}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/09/01/the-tv-column/56addce2-7de5-4818-9a80-168acb9ffd8e/|title=THE TV COLUMN |date=September 1, 1986 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref name=T /> He retired from NBC in 1988.<ref name=T /> Following this, he spent some years providing news copy for the television show ''[[Hard Copy]]'', including the writing and directing of much of its coverage of the [[O. J. Simpson murder case|O. J. Simpson trial]]. He also later wrote for the [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]] television show ''Beyond Chance''.<ref name=B /> |
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In 2020, Nykanen began hosting and producing XRTV-Victoria, a half-hour monthly show that examines the climate crisis with news and science about the emergency. It has also provided behind-the-scenes coverage of logging road blockades to save ancient trees in the renowned Fairy Creek watershed on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://notcbc.ca/2021/02/01/fairy-creek-old-growth-logging/ | title=Not Your CBC News }}</ref> |
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==Politics== |
==Politics== |
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In 1992 Nykanen served as the press secretary to [[Jerry Brown]] during his bid for the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1992|Democratic nomination for President]]. In that role, he discussed with the media |
In 1992 Nykanen served as the press secretary to [[Jerry Brown]] during his bid for the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1992|Democratic nomination for President]]. In that role, he discussed with the media Brown's expectations in the primaries and election results,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/26/us/the-1992-campaign-brown-dark-horse-or-not-brown-enjoys-being-able-to-strut.html|title=THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Brown; Dark Horse or Not, Brown Enjoys Being Able to Strut |author=Richard L. Berke |date=March 26, 1992 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> as well as other questions regarding his campaign.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1992/03/21/browns-staff-tries-to-work-out-kinks/|title=Brown's staff tries to work out kinks |author=John Fairhall |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=March 21, 1992}}</ref> |
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==Novels== |
==Novels== |
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Mark |
Mark Nykanen's novels have been translated into French, German, Italian, Czech, Dutch, Russian, and Mandarin. His first novel was the 1998 book ''Hush''. The work began as a short story based upon a nightmare he had while suffering from a fever, which his literary agent encouraged him to turn into a novel.<ref name=T /> The plot tells the story of a homicidal child abuser in [[Oregon]] who seeks to silence a woman trying to expose his crimes. She discovers his violent past while working as an art therapist with one of his young victims.<ref name=P>{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-18051-5|title=''Hush'': Book Review |publisher=Publishers Weekly|date=March 2, 1998}}</ref> |
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Nykanen's next novel was ''The Bone Parade'', released in 2004. It tells the story of a [[serial-killer]] sculptor who uses the bodies of his victims in his art.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4013-0018-0 |date=October 20, 2003 |title=''The Bone Parade'': Book Review |publisher=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> The book is written from both third-person and first-persons points of view, with the first-person sections representing the internal dialogue and mindset of the murderer.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 2004 |url=https://www.januarymagazine.com/fiction/boneparade.html|title=Silence of the Promise |author=Tony Buchsbaum|publisher=January Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=Entertainment Weekly|url=http://ew.com/article/2004/02/13/bone-parade/|title=''The Bone Parade'': Book Review |author=ADAM B. VARY |date=February 13, 2004}}</ref> The German translation became a best-seller in Germany.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marknykanen.com/bio/|title=Mark Nykanen Biography|publisher=Marknykanen.com|accessdate=December 15, 2017}}</ref> In 2005 Nykanen then released the novel ''Search Angel'', which follows the story of an investigator who helps adoptees looking for their birth parents—and the parallel story of a serial killer who targets women who gave their children up for adoption. The murderer then stalks the investigator herself after discovering she had given up a child earlier in her life.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4013-0019-7|date=May 16, 2005|title=''Search Angel'': Book Review |publisher=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> In 2009, he released the novel ''Primitive'', the story of a middle-aged model who is kidnapped by eco-renegades and held captive in their secluded compound.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thinkprogress.org/will-novels-save-the-world-31b2a76cd448|title=Will novels save the world?|date=February 24, 2010|publisher=Think Progress}}</ref> In 2011, he published ''Striking Back'', about a serial killer who murders members of a therapist's spousal abuse support group.<ref name=E>{{cite news |url=http://castlegarsource.com/news/mark-nykanen-book-launch-double-header-nelson-library-12824#.WjRTl1WnHIU|title=Mark Nykanen book launch double-header at Nelson Library |publisher=Nelson Daily |date=July 31, 2011}}</ref> |
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The same year, under the pseudonym "James Jaros", Nykanen published the post-apocalyptic novel ''Burn Down the Sky'', based on a world decimated by climate change and a killer virus.<ref name=E /> In 2012, he released the novel ''Carry the Flame'' under the same [[pen name]], which follows the story of a caravan of people braving a scorched American Midwest populated by roving bands of violent outlaws. Both novels take place in a world where global warming has wrought catastrophic change.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-201631-7|title=''Carry the Flame'': Book Review|date=June 4, 2012}}</ref> |
The same year, under the pseudonym "James Jaros", Nykanen published the post-apocalyptic novel ''Burn Down the Sky'', based on a world decimated by climate change and a killer virus.<ref name=E /> In 2012, he released the novel ''Carry the Flame'' under the same [[pen name]], which follows the story of a caravan of people braving a scorched American Midwest populated by roving bands of violent outlaws. Both novels take place in a world where global warming has wrought catastrophic change.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-201631-7|title=''Carry the Flame'': Book Review|date=June 4, 2012}}</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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In addition to |
In addition to Nykanen's continued anti-war protests,<ref name=S /> he has been involved in public debates about climate change science.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.valleyvoice.ca/_pdf2/0091118ValleyVoiceweb.pdf|publisher=The Valley Voice|title=The Age of Stupid comes to the Kootenays|author=Dan Spring|date=November 18, 2009}}</ref> During 2003 he and his wife moved to Canada in protest of the US invasion of Iraq. In 2015 they moved back to the U.S. In 2017, Nykanen and his wife returned to Canada, stating the reason was the result of the 2016 presidential election. He and his wife hold citizenship in both countries. Nykanen was married to Lucinda Taylor, who works as a health and family counselor.<ref name=G>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/19/americans-move-canada-trump-bush-immigration|title=These Americans moved to Canada for political reasons. They don't regret it|date=April 19, 2017|work=The Guardian |author=Kristin Schwab}}</ref> He died of a heart attack on September 16, 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/timescolonist/name/mark-nykanen-obituary?pid=202902096|title=Mark Nykanen|website=[[Legacy.com]] |date=September 16, 2022}}</ref> |
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==Recognition== |
==Recognition== |
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Nykanen received four Emmy awards over his career,<ref name=T /> an [[Edgar Award|Edgar Allan Poe Award]], and shared a [[Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award|Dupont-Columbia Award]] for Investigative Journalism.<ref name=P /> |
Nykanen received four Emmy awards over his career,<ref name=T /> an [[Edgar Award|Edgar Allan Poe Award]], and shared a [[Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award|Dupont-Columbia Award]] for Investigative Journalism.<ref name=P /> In 2018, Nykanen appeared on the show ''[[United Shades of America]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2018/05/21/usoa-canada-ron2.cnn/video/playlists/w-kamau-bell-united-shades/|title=He left for Canada after Trump was elected - CNN Video|website=[[CNN]]|date=4 June 2018 }}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Latest revision as of 04:01, 9 October 2024
Mark Nykanen | |
---|---|
Born | 1951 New York City, U.S. |
Died | September 16, 2022 (aged 70) |
Nationality | American |
Citizenship | American and Canadian |
Occupation | Writer |
Spouse | Lucinda Taylor |
Awards | Edgar Award Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism |
Website | web |
Mark Nykanen (1951 – September 16, 2022)[1] was an American novelist and journalist. Nykanen began his career as a journalist for New Times Weekly in Phoenix, before becoming a news director at KDKB radio and news anchor for Arizona PBS. He then received four Emmy awards for his work as an on-air correspondent at NBC News; an Edgar Allan Poe Award for writing the NBC documentary Silent Shame: The Sexual Abuse of Children; and shared a Dupont-Columbia Award for Investigative Journalism. After NBC, Nykanen served as the Press Secretary for California Governor Jerry Brown’s 1992 campaign for the Democratic nomination for President. He later became an author, publishing five novels under his own name and two under the pseudonym James Jaros.
Early life
[edit]Mark Nykanen spent his childhood years in Arizona.[2] During the Vietnam War period, he became a war resister.[3] He attended college but did not graduate.[4]
Journalism
[edit]During the 1970s Nykanen was a reporter for Phoenix’s New Times Weekly.[4] One of his first prominent news investigations was into the Arizona State Prison Complex – Florence, where his undercover work saw him banned from the facility,[2] and his articles clipped from newspapers before they were distributed to the inmates, in an attempt to suppress his discoveries. His prison reporting contributed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights investigation of the inhumane conditions of prisons in Arizona.[4] Nykanen then became an on-air news reporter and news director for KDKB radio in Phoenix,[5][6] and he was later the news anchor for the Arizona Weekly television broadcast on KAET.[7] During this time he received several Arizona Press Club Awards in print, radio, and television, including an investigation into the Arizona Revenue Department that led to the resignation of several of its top officials.[4]
In 1980, Nykanen began working for NBC News as a correspondent, and continued his investigative journalism. In September, 1982, he began working on a documentary uncovering an international ring of child pornography and prostitution that spanned from Holland and Denmark to the American Midwest. The documentary was aired nationwide on NBC as an hour-long special under the title Silent Shame: The Sexual Abuse of Children.[4][8] The New York Times called the broadcast, “as good an examination of a difficult topic as we are likely to see on television.”[9] During the documentary, Nykanen interviewed child molesters on camera and connected them to the lucrative child pornography industry.[10] The show was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism in the Programs category.[11]
During the 1980s, Nykanen broadcast other reports on NBC Nightly News. In 1982, he was nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Investigative Journalism, Segments category for his report Land Hustles.[12] In 1983 Nykanen uncovered the use of German Nazis as US spies in the days following World War Two.[13] He also headed the investigative reporting unit for the NBC television news magazine Monitor.[14][15]
In 1985, Nykanen won the Emmy for Investigative Journalism in the Segments category for his on-camera reporting for Military Medicine, an exposé on malpractice in the U.S. military that aired on NBC Nightly News. Nykanen also investigated the use of dangerous pesticides and the regulatory failures of the FDA, for which he won an Emmy.[16][17][2] He retired from NBC in 1988.[2] Following this, he spent some years providing news copy for the television show Hard Copy, including the writing and directing of much of its coverage of the O. J. Simpson trial. He also later wrote for the Lifetime television show Beyond Chance.[4]
In 2020, Nykanen began hosting and producing XRTV-Victoria, a half-hour monthly show that examines the climate crisis with news and science about the emergency. It has also provided behind-the-scenes coverage of logging road blockades to save ancient trees in the renowned Fairy Creek watershed on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.[18]
Politics
[edit]In 1992 Nykanen served as the press secretary to Jerry Brown during his bid for the Democratic nomination for President. In that role, he discussed with the media Brown's expectations in the primaries and election results,[19] as well as other questions regarding his campaign.[20]
Novels
[edit]Mark Nykanen's novels have been translated into French, German, Italian, Czech, Dutch, Russian, and Mandarin. His first novel was the 1998 book Hush. The work began as a short story based upon a nightmare he had while suffering from a fever, which his literary agent encouraged him to turn into a novel.[2] The plot tells the story of a homicidal child abuser in Oregon who seeks to silence a woman trying to expose his crimes. She discovers his violent past while working as an art therapist with one of his young victims.[21]
Nykanen's next novel was The Bone Parade, released in 2004. It tells the story of a serial-killer sculptor who uses the bodies of his victims in his art.[22] The book is written from both third-person and first-persons points of view, with the first-person sections representing the internal dialogue and mindset of the murderer.[23][24] The German translation became a best-seller in Germany.[25] In 2005 Nykanen then released the novel Search Angel, which follows the story of an investigator who helps adoptees looking for their birth parents—and the parallel story of a serial killer who targets women who gave their children up for adoption. The murderer then stalks the investigator herself after discovering she had given up a child earlier in her life.[26] In 2009, he released the novel Primitive, the story of a middle-aged model who is kidnapped by eco-renegades and held captive in their secluded compound.[27] In 2011, he published Striking Back, about a serial killer who murders members of a therapist's spousal abuse support group.[28]
The same year, under the pseudonym "James Jaros", Nykanen published the post-apocalyptic novel Burn Down the Sky, based on a world decimated by climate change and a killer virus.[28] In 2012, he released the novel Carry the Flame under the same pen name, which follows the story of a caravan of people braving a scorched American Midwest populated by roving bands of violent outlaws. Both novels take place in a world where global warming has wrought catastrophic change.[29]
Personal life
[edit]In addition to Nykanen's continued anti-war protests,[3] he has been involved in public debates about climate change science.[30] During 2003 he and his wife moved to Canada in protest of the US invasion of Iraq. In 2015 they moved back to the U.S. In 2017, Nykanen and his wife returned to Canada, stating the reason was the result of the 2016 presidential election. He and his wife hold citizenship in both countries. Nykanen was married to Lucinda Taylor, who works as a health and family counselor.[31] He died of a heart attack on September 16, 2022.[32]
Recognition
[edit]Nykanen received four Emmy awards over his career,[2] an Edgar Allan Poe Award, and shared a Dupont-Columbia Award for Investigative Journalism.[21] In 2018, Nykanen appeared on the show United Shades of America.[33]
References
[edit]- ^ Mark Nykanen
- ^ a b c d e f A.J. Flick (May 23, 1998). "Book Signing". The Tucson Citizen.
- ^ a b "U.S. draft dodgers to get monument". Kitsap Sun. September 9, 2004.
- ^ a b c d e f "Biography: Mark Nykanen". Belle Books.
- ^ DAVE WALKER (November 13, 1991). "KDKB AT 20IN THE HANDS OF BILL COMPTON, THE STATION SHAPED A GENERATION--THEN FELL VICTIM TO ITS OWN SUCCESS". The Phoenix New Times.
- ^ "Auxiliary". The Arizona Republic. September 7, 1977.
- ^ "Tonight's Viewing". The Arizona Republic. June 12, 1980.
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