Watchdog Journalism: The Art of Investigative Reporting
"Berry has broken new ground for the insider analysis of important journalism. Typically, books about modern reporting tend either to be triumphalist (crusading newshounds bring down bad guys) or jeremiads (how the news system has collapsed). But Berry portrays Pulitzer Prize reporting teams as human beings, as well as craftspeople. More important, he shows the shades of gray and the complexities that his protagonists try to translate into black-and-white print and that often stymie 'solutions' to the scandals uncovered. We get an inside look at the many political, emotional, and historical factors that produced reporting that saved lives, but also split a community. This is a book that should be read by every journalist as well as everyone in the academy who thinks of him or herself as a critic of journalism."--David D. Perlmutter,William Allen White School of Journalism &Mass Communications, University of Kansas