Graham Johnson was a fresh-faced journalist with an ambition to break the big news stories and make his name as a star reporter when an offer came in to work at a leading tabloid...he couldn't say no. Instantly, he found himself drawn into a world of sleaze, spin and corruption - where bending the law was justifiable in the hunt for the big-selling story and bending the truth was the norm. Against his better judgement, Graham found his niche in this new world and, what's more, he found that he was good at it. In his time at first the News of the World then the Sunday Mirror, he made a name for himself as a man who could deliver the story, no matter what - a kind of tabloid terrorist who rifled through celebrity's rubbish bins, staked out politicians' hotel rooms, and paid-up page three girls to seduce Premiership footballers, all in the name of selling newspapers. Hack is a compelling and intoxicating story of one man's time in the tabloid jungle - a world that in its heady mix of sex, drugs and casual immorality is reminiscent of the City - and how he ultimately saved himself.
Hack
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'A timely exposé ... A compelling read' --Shortlist
About the Author
Graham Johnson is an investigative journalist and author of the highly acclaimed true crime titles Druglord and Powder Wars (both published by Mainstream).
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Rob Griffin
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I first started out in journalism some 20 years ago, I had this notion that the role of a reporter was giving a voice to those that couldn't defend themselves (these were pre blog and Facebook days, remember) and I have always vociferously defended my trade against attacks by those who love to criticise newspapers and magazines.
The first half of Hack, the biographical tome by ex News of the World and Sunday Mirror reporter Graham Johnson, however, made me challenge everything I believed about journalism and left me feeling thoroughly depressed. Call me naive but I was stunned by the casual way that Johnson - who has since repented his sins after finding philosophy - recounted how he completely made up numerous stories. And by made up I mean really made up, to the extent of getting his mates to pose as drug dealers in photos that were published in the paper. Then there was his desire to turn over people who, at best, were low level chancers and Del Boys rather than proper, grown-up criminals.
Now there's no doubt that Johnson was a very capable reporter when he could be bothered and the latter stages of the book chart his rebirth at the Sunday Mirror and his eventual path away from the hotbed of tabloid journalism. It all makes for a fascinating insight into the way national newspapers work, the prejudices that are inherent on news desks, the insular black-and-white nature of tabloids generally, and the giant egos that stalk so many newsrooms.
Rob Griffin
[...]
The first half of Hack, the biographical tome by ex News of the World and Sunday Mirror reporter Graham Johnson, however, made me challenge everything I believed about journalism and left me feeling thoroughly depressed. Call me naive but I was stunned by the casual way that Johnson - who has since repented his sins after finding philosophy - recounted how he completely made up numerous stories. And by made up I mean really made up, to the extent of getting his mates to pose as drug dealers in photos that were published in the paper. Then there was his desire to turn over people who, at best, were low level chancers and Del Boys rather than proper, grown-up criminals.
Now there's no doubt that Johnson was a very capable reporter when he could be bothered and the latter stages of the book chart his rebirth at the Sunday Mirror and his eventual path away from the hotbed of tabloid journalism. It all makes for a fascinating insight into the way national newspapers work, the prejudices that are inherent on news desks, the insular black-and-white nature of tabloids generally, and the giant egos that stalk so many newsrooms.
Rob Griffin
[...]
By Avid Reader
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Don't be put off by the headline of my review, this is a truly sensational book but - unlike author and self-proclaimed former 'tabloid terrorist' Graham Johnson - I'm not in the business of hype! Johnson writes engagingly and openly about his trade, sometimes with jaw-dropping honesty. Hack specifically details his time at the News of the World and, later, at the Sunday Mirror, and some of his admissions are genuinely astonishing - revealing the subterfuge, chicanery and, on occasions, sheer fabrication carried out by newspapers in the bad old days of Fleet Street. Some of his tabloid tales made me laugh out loud on the Tube, drawing strange glances from fellow travellers. Others made me mentally hold my head in my hands. Needless to say, this book is no hagiography, or rose-tinted, nostalgia-inducing memoir. Indeed, I suspect some hacks might well chide Johnson for lifting the lid on the dark arts behind the headlines. In the current climate of crackdown, amid 6am police raids on journalists and general ill-will towards the tabloids, he's certainly a brave man to do so. I've no doubt some of his former colleagues are languishing on police bail for far less, though I should make clear, as Johnson does, that he did not get mixed up in the bête noir that is phone hacking and the events of this book mostly pre-date the period now under scrutiny. What is clear is that Johnson was an exceptional reporter, albeit one who buckled under the pressure, falling into some pretty questionable behaviour. I don't believe he is an every-journalist in any sense. I have always thought newspapers were a bit like sausages; no matter how tasty, you really don't want to see what goes into making them. Having said that, this is a brilliant, thought-provoking read and I'd heartily recommend it.
By G (not Gee)
Format:Paperback
Have just read the book cover-to-cover as I found once I'd started I became absorbed with the knowledge that this was not something from the author's imagination but a complelling narrarative of his time at the 'Street' and what an insight it is is.
A fascinating look into the 'dark arts' - suggest a must-read for all intelligence operatives as these guys clearly are at another level !!
A fascinating look into the 'dark arts' - suggest a must-read for all intelligence operatives as these guys clearly are at another level !!
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