Wayne Barrett was an investigative reporter and senior editor for The Village Voice for 37 years. He was a Fellow with The Nation Institute and contributor to Newsweek. Barrett wrote several books, and is known for his biographies of New York politicians such as Ed Koch, Donald Trump, and Rudy Giuliani. Barrett received degrees from Saint Joseph's University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he served on the adjunct faculty for over thirty years. He died in New York City borough of Manhattan in 2017.