Perry's international career began as a program officer for the
Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, serving in
Hanoi, the capital of
Vietnam. On his return, he was chief researcher at the National Veterans Legal Services Program, in
Washington, D.C. He began his career at CNN as an international assignment editor on the network’s foreign desk in
Atlanta,
Georgia. As international assignment editor, Perry was responsible for all aspects of network news gathering, coordinating the international coverage for all of CNN’s networks, producing reporter live shots and determining the editorial content for the CNN news packages. His next assignment was in the field, as a producer in
Iraq. Initially an embedded producer in 2003, Perry remained in the country, based in
Baghdad, during which time he reported from nearly all of Iraq’s provinces. He covered the U.S. war in Iraq with numerous embeds, which included producing and directing a report on U.S. special operations forces – the first international correspondent to do so. During his time in-country, Perry produced, directed and reported the award-winning CNN documentary "Combat Hospital," an inside look into one of the U.S. military's busiest combat hospitals in Iraq. In November 2004 Perry organized CNN’s West Bank coverage of the death and funeral of Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat, an opportunity which arose from his previous service as press officer for the European Union’s Reconciliation Program, during the
Second Palestinian Intifada. In this press officer position, Perry participated in discussions with a broad spectrum of policy-makers on public relations issues relating to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Perry and correspondent
Karl Penhaul won the
Edward R. Murrow award for "Continuing Coverage: CNN, Coverage of the Middle East Conflict" for their coverage of the 2006 war between
Israel and
Hezbollah. Perry and Penhaul were the first journalists to arrive in
Tyre, Lebanon, amid the early fighting in 2006. As one of only a handful of journalist teams present in Southern Lebanon during the first five days of the war, they provided important coverage during the first week of the war. Perry published the article "The True Cost of War" for cnn.com, describing his experiences in Lebanon during that time. In 2007, Perry was among the first reporters to appear live from
Bangladesh during the massive
cyclone Sidr providing both on-air coverage and still photographs. As the CNN liaison for the Middle East and CNN’s bureau chief in Lebanon, Perry conducted a series of first-time interviews with prominent world leaders. In August 2007 he conducted an exclusive interview with the exiled
Hamas leader
Khaled Meshaal from a safe house in
Syria. Perry was one of the first reporters from the Western media to interview Meshaal and published a well-known article entitled "Face to Face with top Hamas Leader in a Secret Location".
Bashar al-Assad in English. Additionally, Perry interviewed Syrian first lady
Asma al-Assad in 2009, and
Saad Hariri, the Lebanese prime minister, in the first interview with him after his election, in 2008. In December 2022, Perry, a lifelong Baltimore Orioles fan, joined the club as senior vice president and chief content officer.
John P. Angelos, the team's then-chairman and CEO, called Perry a "master storyteller" who would help integrate the team's multimedia content throughout the organization and with its partners. Perry left the Orioles in early 2025 to pursue other opportunities. ==Awards==