A few days before Christmas, an anonymous caller told a St. Louis Post-Dispatch editor that a young woman had died at the home of August A. Busch IV, the ex-beer baron of Anheuser-Busch. If true, it was a huge story in the region where the name “Busch” conjured near-royal status. Busch’s grandfather, often referred to…
Some of my best friends are investigative reporters, so what follows is argued with no small amount of trepidation. My friends are a bit thin-skinned, you see, because their work is constantly criticized by those they investigate. But they are the stars of our profession, so they almost never get criticized by those of us…
CNN’s coverage of the popular uprisings in Egypt and other countries has brought to the forefront once again the question: If reporters know that official statements or press releases do not reflect what is happening on the ground, should they report it without comment? Should they ignore it, or should they report it with a…
In Brooklyn, where his hits rattled off the right field wall like corn in a popper, Dodger fans, filled with respect and awe, first dubbed him “The Man.” On the day of his final game, the commissioner of baseball, Ford Frick, said, “Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior. Here stands baseball’s perfect knight.” Stan Musial earned…
“Kill the Messenger: The Media’s Role in the Fate of the World” Author: Maria Armoudian Publisher: Prometheus Books Hardcover: 312 pages In true journalist fashion, Maria Armoudian uses compelling language and personal stories to make a gripping connection of a much larger picture. In approximately 300 thoroughly researched pages, Armoudin takes us around the world…