“Finding the News: Adventures of a Young Reporter” by Peter Copeland is certainly one of the best books I have ever read about the news industry. It easily compares with David Halberstam’s “The Powers That Be” and “The Kingdom and The Power” by Gay Talese.
Copeland begins by describing how he found journalism at his first job as a reporter at the famous City News Bureau of Chicago. I worked at CNB 10 years before Peter. Not much had changed. He nailed it. Throughout the narrative he refers to the lessons he learned as a young reporter in Chicago covering the various beats: police, city hall, the courts – 24/7.
He learned to get it right. CNB’s famous motto was: “if your mother says she loves you, check it out.” I agree with other reviewers who have written that this book reads like a novel. It was hard to put down as Copeland’s career as a foreign correspondent takes him to trouble spots around the globe.
After two years at City News Bureau, Copeland took a job at a the El Paso (TX) Herald Post where cross border stories always dominated the news. He was later named the first Latin American correspondent for the Scripps Howard News Service reporting on life and revolutions in dangerous Central and South American countries. He fell in love with Mexico where he met his wife and now lives part-time.
His career eventually takes him to the Scripps offices in Washington, DC where he covers the Pentagon and must always be ready to travel to hot spots reporting on the U.S. military. He is on the scene when the U.S. invaded Panama and later the dust up in Somalia. He becomes one of the first reporters to be embedded with the Army during the first Gulf War in Iraq. Copeland describes his experiences with humility and humor. He scores his share of scoops while admitting to mistakes that a reporter can make on a fast-moving story.
Despite inevitable road bumps, Copeland must learn to balance his professional and personal life as a husband and father, not an easy task.
I don’t want to encourage readers to jump to the end to see if “the butler did it…” but the Epilogue – titled: “On Journalism” is a chapter that can stand on its own as an essay about the news industry: past, present, and future.
This book should be required reading in journalism schools. Veteran and retired journalists will also share in the memories that Copeland’s story evokes. It’s a book for all ages. The final sentence sums up his career and those who have spent their lives reporting the news.
“Sometimes friends ask me: Do you miss being a reporter?”
He answers: “Every single day.”
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
