Merry started his career as a reporter for
The Denver Post and became a Washington-based political reporter in 1974 when he joined the staff of the
National Observer, a Dow Jones weekly newspaper. When the Observer folded in 1977, he became a reporter for
The Wall Street Journal, and spent twelve years there covering Congress, national politics, and the White House, among other beats. Merry became managing editor of
Congressional Quarterly in 1987. He was promoted to executive editor in 1990 and became president and editor-in-chief in 1997. Merry is the author of five books. ==Works==