Dolores Barclay Headshot
Report a problem with this profile
[email protected]

Dolores Barclay      

Author, Professor at Columbia School of Journalism & Former National Writer and Arts Editor of The Associated Press

Dolores Barclay is an author and former National Writer and Arts Editor of The Associated Press, and sits on the Advisory Board of City University Center for the Arts. She worked for AP first as a reporter covering city hall, federal and criminal courts, and the police beat for the New York City bureau. She became a feature writer and later a national writer and investigative reporter until moving into culture coverage as a writer and critic. She expanded AP's culture beat as Arts and Entertainment editor, and took a leave from her management position to work on the investigative series "Torn From the Land(link is external)," which was awarded the Aronson Prize for Social Justice Journalism, the APME Enterprise Award, and the Griot Award of the New York Association of Black Journalists and was submitted for a Pulitzer Prize.

Barclay, who has taught feature writing at Rutgers University, is the author of two inspirational books, and co-author of "A Girl Needs Cash" and "Sammy Davis Jr. My Father." She also worked with Diana Ross on her best-selling memoir, "Secrets of a Sparrow." A graduate of Elmira College, Barclay was honored with the Alumni Association’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2011. She is also a recipient of The Multiple Sclerosis Award for Excellence in Communication. She is currently working on her first novel and a publishing and video project with supermodel Frederique van der Wal, host of FYI's "Homegrown Makeover." She is a producer on a documentary about legendary film producer Sam Spiegel ("Lawrence of Arabia" and "On the Waterfront").

When not working, Barclay sails, fishes, snorkels, travels, gardens and cooks. She enjoys theater, film, music, art, ballet and comic books.

Speech Topics


Journalism, Factual Reporting, Communication

--Journalism and Democracy --Truth-Telling and Fake News --How to Ferret out a Fake --Integrity in the Workplace --Women and Leadership --The Need to Keep the Arts Alive and Thriving --"Torn From the Land" -- The Investigation and Documentation of Stolen Black Land Over 150 Years --Believing in Self Rocks --Don't Believe Print Is Dead: Good News Is Alive and Well --The Lost Art of Good Listening --Trigger Points vs. Reality and Inner Strength --The Art of a Good Interview: Never Take No for an Answer

Related Speakers View all


More like Dolores