Despite ABS News producer Bill Ramey’s distaste for seamy news stories, he pursues evidence that links Senator Gerald Smith to the disappearance of a beautiful blond coed. Nothing is as it appears and soon Bill uncovers dark secrets that someone would kill to protect. As the news story unfolds Bill Ramey and Senator Smith are swept into the funnel of a media tornado that neither of them can control. Though Bill tries to hang on to his integrity, he becomes one of the players in a dangerous game of media manipulation.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"A quick read that really moves with some powerful surprises! A good 'backstage' look at the world of broadcast news." - M. J. McDermott, Q13 FOX News, Seattle, WA
About the Author
Michael Gudgell is an award winning television news producer who has worked on some of the most sensational news stories of the last twenty-five years, including the murders of Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson and JonBenet Ramsey. He was ABCNews acting Bureau Chief in Moscow, Kuwait and Baghdad.
J.D. Rader published her first book, Bringing Out Baby (JASI) in 1999. She has published in the Seattle Times, Ballard Tribune and Los Angeles Times. Julia enjoys the process of creating plot driven stories with multidimensional characters. She grew up on the south side of Chicago which serves as settings for many of her stories.
J.D. Rader published her first book, Bringing Out Baby (JASI) in 1999. She has published in the Seattle Times, Ballard Tribune and Los Angeles Times. Julia enjoys the process of creating plot driven stories with multidimensional characters. She grew up on the south side of Chicago which serves as settings for many of her stories.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Steven
Format:Paperback
Breaking news is primarily a political thriller, set against the backdrop of a television news industry on the decline. It provides an insider view into how politics, money, and influence dramatically impact the news, regardless of the integrity of the individuals working in the industry. Michael Gudgell is a former television news producer and the picture painted is one of a mix of good reporters and sell-outs in an industry that values looks and flash over content and is fundamentally more concerned with profit than journalism. The book is very engaging, and the information about the industry gives it an extra kick. It's a pretty fast, light read - one of the things I especially liked about it was that it was hard to predict: usually if I can't predict exactly how things will spin out at best I'm not surprised, but there were a some nice curves that I didn't see coming. There were a couple of times when the hero was getting thwarted that really frustrated me, which good because it means that I'm engaged.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By Jim Bob
Format:Paperback
Most of the story in this book takes part in my hometown and really brings the places alive with vivid description of the area in and around Hyde Park, Chicago,IL., and the surrounding area. It tells a story that paralells real life in a way that's real and riveting. It gives a good look into the broadcast news business, its good and bad sides. The characters themselves reflect real life people as they can be unapealing, plain bad, some lacking character but yet redeemable as well as respectable and god fearing. As I read this book it was very easy to visualize exactly what was happening and envisioning how the movie from the book would look like. I highly recomend that you pick up a copy of this book immediatly. It is a fun and exciting adventure!
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This review has two parts: First for the casual reader, second for the more avid reader.
For the casual reader: If you read simply to enjoy a good story, this is a great book. You'll be engaged from beginning to end, and probably not want to put it down.
For the more avid reader: If the writing is as important to you as the story, this book may frustrate you a little. Though the plot is well developed, some of the characters are not. A couple fairly important characters are flat and and a bit cliche. Instead of letting us "listen in" on conversations, the authors summarized them, robbing us of the opportunity to get a real feel for each character. The dialogue that does exist is pretty stiff and awkward, including a total lack of contractions. I've never met people who don't ever use contractions in conversation, unless English is their second language.
There are a couple rather contrived plot devices (SPOILER ALERT!) like Bill's boss, Ira, putting the blame on Bill for Marta's fabricated news story. It does make the plot thicken, but Bill has evidence implicating Marta as the fraud. We're left to believe Ira is stupid enough to concoct a second phony news story, believing it won't eventually be exposed, also. His actions are just silly and irrational. It would've been more believable had he taken out a hit on Bill, or at the very LEAST made some effort to destroy the evidence on Marta.
Frustrations aside, I enjoyed the book overall. It was engaging enough that I read it quickly. If you can overlook some minor problems with style and mechanics, Breaking News is actually pretty good.
For the casual reader: If you read simply to enjoy a good story, this is a great book. You'll be engaged from beginning to end, and probably not want to put it down.
For the more avid reader: If the writing is as important to you as the story, this book may frustrate you a little. Though the plot is well developed, some of the characters are not. A couple fairly important characters are flat and and a bit cliche. Instead of letting us "listen in" on conversations, the authors summarized them, robbing us of the opportunity to get a real feel for each character. The dialogue that does exist is pretty stiff and awkward, including a total lack of contractions. I've never met people who don't ever use contractions in conversation, unless English is their second language.
There are a couple rather contrived plot devices (SPOILER ALERT!) like Bill's boss, Ira, putting the blame on Bill for Marta's fabricated news story. It does make the plot thicken, but Bill has evidence implicating Marta as the fraud. We're left to believe Ira is stupid enough to concoct a second phony news story, believing it won't eventually be exposed, also. His actions are just silly and irrational. It would've been more believable had he taken out a hit on Bill, or at the very LEAST made some effort to destroy the evidence on Marta.
Frustrations aside, I enjoyed the book overall. It was engaging enough that I read it quickly. If you can overlook some minor problems with style and mechanics, Breaking News is actually pretty good.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't always believe what you hear
The book was great and it makes you wonder if reporters do make things up to get ratings or for the end results. Very good story line.
Published 3 days ago by wendy feinen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Makes you think!
I was laid up in bed after reading this book, and all of the Fox and CNN news were running segments which could barely be called news, more sensationalism. Read more
Published 3 days ago by busybee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breaking News by J.D. Rader
I really liked this book. Not bloody. Good story. Nice ending. I would like to read more of this author.
Published 9 days ago by Carol Race
4.0 out of 5 stars
Breaking news:a novel
Moved along nicely- the story had it all- action and romance and intrigue. It wrapped up nicely with a surprise ending.
Published 10 days ago by Michele Boelk
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful suspense-filled read
I couldn't put this book down. The "hero" does the right thing right up until the end...I won't ruin it for you, but a great read and one that I am still trying to wrestle... Read more
Published 12 days ago by DonD
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Reading!
The book was great & I loved it and so did my wife. We love it when both of us enjoy the book. Great job!!
Published 14 days ago by fwhitermore
4.0 out of 5 stars
Broadcast news seems glamourous to some
I was lucky to pick this up as a e-book freebie and thoroughly enjoyed it. I particularly liked the insight into the broadcast news word which made this quite unique. Read more
Published 18 days ago by DialM
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rivoting book
This is a book I really could not put down. I often read mysteries and pride myself on figuring out "who done it". Not this one! Read more
Published 18 days ago by James E. Barnwell
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Light Between The Oceans.
The story was interesting about the lives of the Light house keepers.
But the story was drawn out with far too much of the child's character and dialogue I found it a little... Read more
But the story was drawn out with far too much of the child's character and dialogue I found it a little... Read more
Published 24 days ago by B. J. Watson
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Believe everything you read
Although this is an intriguing story with some language involving a senator and a hoax, I gave it three stars because the writing is amateurish.
Published 1 month ago by Ruth Deck
Book Extras from the Shelfari Community
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More About the Author
Julia Rader Detering (aka J.D. Rader) grew up on Chicago's South Side and uses Chicago as the setting for many of her stories. She enjoys crafting plot-driven stories with multi-dimensional characters. As a freelance writer in Seattle, Washington, Julia writes fiction, contributes to blogs, writes copy for websites and crafts case studies for software developers. She published Bringing Out Baby (JASI), a guide book for the Seattle, Washington area and has contributed to the LA Times, Seattle Times and Ballard News Tribune. Her screenplays have received honorable mention in the prestigious Writers Digest Annual Writing Competition. You can read more about Julia and her books at woodedislepress.com.
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