Raising Hell: Straight Talk With Investigative Journalists [Paperback]

Ron Chepesiuk (Author, Editor), Haney Howell (Author, Editor), Edward Lee (Author, Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 078640356X | ISBN-13: 978-0786403561 | Publication Date: October 1997

In recent years, a new wave of investigative journalists have become prominent. Some relish being "politically incorrect" (David Brock, author of The Real Anita Hill); others methodically shatter cultural icons (Douglas Frantz's expos of Washington insider Clark Clifford); and still others have revealed such horror as Cold War experimentation on unsuspecting citizens (Eileen Welsome's Pulitzer Prize-winning stories). In their own words, these journalists and nine others provide insight to their jobs and the role of investigative journalism in American society.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This volume includes interviews with 11 contemporary investigative reporters from print and electronic media, conducted by three faculty members from Winthrop University. A skimpy introduction does not say why these journalists?representing the political spectrum from David Brock's investigation of Anita Hill to Eileen Welsome's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of Cold War experimentation on citizens?were selected or how the methodology for designing the interview format was devised. Well-known journalists whom one might expect to be included are not here. Each interview begins with a brief biographical sketch and a description of the interview setting and length. It is not clear whether the interviews have been edited or are transcribed in their entirety. An unfortunate flaw is the careless copyediting, e.g., Lexis-Nexis is misspelled as Lexus-Nexus throughout. An optional purchase for specialized collections.?Judy Solberg, George Washington Univ. Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"refreshing...an odd, delightful and occasionally inspiring book. ...remind[s] us how much journalism...demands depth of character-qualities of compassion, truth telling, and fearlessness...the editors...have produced an odd, delightul, and occasionally inspiring book" -- Columbia Journalism Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 181 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078640356X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786403561
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,010,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, waste of time, February 12, 2002

By 

tintin2002 "tintin2002" (Singapore, Singapore Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raising Hell: Straight Talk With Investigative Journalists (Paperback)

For those wanting to learn about the ropes of investigative journalism, this book will prove disappointing. It features interviews with so called famous investigative journos, such as John Camp - whose reportage apparently brought down evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, Sydney Schanberg (The Killing Fields) etc. This should have proved fascinating reading, but this doesn't come through. For starters, it fails to recap the stories written by these journalists. So in the feature of John Camp, it describes vaguely that he uncovered the seedy money trail to Jimmy Swaggert, but fails to convey the excitement of how he broke the news, what the stories were, and how he did it. Second, the "stories'' are in question and answer format. This would be fine, except that some questions are seriously inane. For example, "do you have researchers to help you'', and worse, "do you use computer records in researching a story'' ? For those who want to be inspired about investigative journalism, reading Woodword and Bernstein in "All the President's Men'' would offer far greater insights. On the other hand, this book, while having the potential to be gripping, has turned out to be dry and boring. It had the opportunity to mine some great journalists on their biggest scoops. All it succeeded in doing was ask questions that elicited little value added. I don't care two hoots about whether they use computers. I would expect that few who pick up this book to learn about investigative journalism would.

4.0 out of 5 stars Investigative journalism from behind the word processor, February 10, 1998

By 

Author Bill Peschel "Writers Gone Wild" (Hershey, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raising Hell: Straight Talk With Investigative Journalists (Paperback)

"Raising Hell" is a collection of interviews with notable investigative reporters. The length of these talks give these journalists plenty of space to describe how they go about their work, which can take them from Vietnam and Cambodia (Sydney Schanberg, whose story was the basis for the movie "The Killing Fields") to the Boeing beat in Seattle (Byron Acohido, who won a Pulitzer for his coverage). Also interviewed are Gerald Posner, whose book on the JFK assassination, "Case Closed," is a brilliant and readable defense of the Warren Commission; conservative advocate David Brock, author of "The Real Anita Hill"; and John Camp, whose stories about Jimmy Swaggert led to the televangelist's downfall. Journalists interested in learning more about the investigative side of their profession will find this worth reading.