On Monday, March 1, Waco Tribune-Herald reporter Mark England was on the biggest story of his life. The morning after the reporters' series on the cult began, federal agents had stormed the Davidians' compound, leaving behind four dead agents and fixing the eyes of the nation on the self-proclaimed Messiah. One phone call, however, stood out. Yet in the following days, while agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms were negotiating with cult leader Koresh, another kind of negotiating was going on outside Ranch Apocalypse.
Journalists are a natural choice in the race to bring out a book or a movie on a major event.
They are quick studies, trained to tune into human drama and pathos, and often come with sources and a store of knowledge. And, accustomed to a slim pacycheck, reporters may find the promise of quick money tempting. Journalists in Waco had varying responses to this question. It's apparently not to do the best story possible, but to just get something out. . . . It would be tough to pull off.