1Webb birth
Webb was born in Corona, California. His father was a Marine sergeant, and the family moved frequently, as his career took him to new assignments.
2Webb worked as a reporter at the Kentucky Post
Gary found work in 1978 as a reporter at the Kentucky Post, a local paper affiliated with the larger Cincinnati Post.
3Webb married Susan
In 1979, Webb married Susan Bell; the couple eventually had three children.
4Webb's first investigative work
Webb's first major investigative work appeared in 1980, when the Cincinnati Post published "The Coal Connection," a seventeen-part series by Webb and Post reporter Thomas Scheffey.
5Webb worked for the newspaper Cleveland Plain Dealer
In 1983, Webb moved to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where he continued doing investigative work.
6 A series investigation "Doctoring the Truth"
A 1985 series, "Doctoring the Truth," uncovered problems in the State Medical Board and led to an Ohio House investigation which resulted in major revisions to the state Medical Practice Act
7Webb was appointed in San Jose Mercury News
In 1988, Webb was recruited by the San Jose Mercury News, which was looking for an investigative reporter. He was assigned to its Sacramento bureau, where he was allowed to choose most of his own stories.
8Dark Alliance
Webb began researching "Dark Alliance" in July 1995.
9Webb published the truth in The Mercury News
The series was published in The Mercury News in three parts, from August 18–20, 1996, with one long article and one or two shorter articles appearing each day. It was also posted on The Mercury News website with additional information, including documents cited in the series and audio recordings of people quoted in the articles.
10Webb left The Mercury News
Webb resigned from the paper in November 1997.
11Dark Alliance (book)
Webb expanded the "Dark Alliance" series into a book that responded to the criticism of the series and described his experiences writing the story and dealing with the controversy. It was published in 1998 as Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.
12Webb suicide
Webb was found dead in his Carmichael home on December 10, 2004, with two gunshot wounds to the head.
13Kill the Messenger (2014 film)
Kill the Messenger is a 2014 American mystery film directed by Michael Cuesta.The film stars Jeremy Renner, Ray Liotta, Barry Pepper, Andy Garcia, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Michael Sheen, Oliver Platt, Tim Blake Nelson, Robert Patrick, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Paz Vega, and the movie is scheduled to be released in all theaters starting October 17, 2014. Production companies are Bluegrass Films and The Combine