Shirley Perlman, Long Island Journalism Hall of Fame Class of 2026
Posted on May. 24, 2026 / Subscribe 0
During her 18 years at Newsday, Shirley E. Perlman covered just about every major breaking news story in the nation and on Long Island.
She was with OJ in California, where he was acquitted in the killing of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.
She was with William Kennedy Smith in Florida, where he was acquitted of raping a babysitter.
She covered school shootings in Jonesboro, Arkansas. and Littleton, Colorado.
She covered the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
And she broke the first story about an early attack on the World Trade Center.
Closer to home, Shirley — who spent time on Newsday’s town, county, police and court beats, and the newspaper’s storied investigations team — covered Colin Ferguson, the Long Island Rail Road shooter; Cheryl Pierson, teenaged cheerleader, who pleaded guilty to hiring a classmate to kill her abusive father; Robert Golub, who was convicted in the slaying of 13-year-old Kelly Anne Tinyes; and Joseph Pikul, convicted of killing his second wife.
She also covered Joseph Buttafuoco and Amy Fisher, the Long Island Lolita.
She handled more than crime stories, however, including a several-days-long stint on a barge carrying garbage from Long Island that became famous for being turned away from its initial destination. The stories she filed from that ill-fated journey included recipes from the vessel’s tugboat captain.
Shirley had a knack for generating scoops. Among them, a foiled planned attack on the World Trade Center.
Before joining Newsday, Shirley was editor of The Long Islander and The Roslyn News. She also worked as a freelancer for the Long Island section of The New York Times.
She is a past president of the Press Club of Long Island.
After retiring from Newsday in 2003, Shirley served on journalism faculty at SUNY Albany, New York University, Columbia Journalism School and C.W. Post College.
Shirley continued teaching — mostly reporting and writing — at SUNY Albany after moving to Vermont. She later taught an online class, Foundations of Journalism and News Literacy, for the school.
Shortly after moving north, Shirley wrote a memoir, “Showtime,” mostly about her war stories, victories and defeats. She also wrote and produced a one-act comedy that was performed at the Dorset Playhouse, a community theater group; and led a weekly Today’s Headlines group for Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning.
Her home is in the woods, on five acres of land.
Until recently, Shirley was into sugaring — tapping trees and lugging sap. She had a boiling setup on a side porch, which produced enough for her family.
Shirley is a SUNY graduate. She also attended the University of Buffalo.
She has won numerous awards.
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