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Shop nowThe Chain Gang
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Learn moreOne of the biggest under-told stories of the past twenty years is the swallowing up of small independent newspapers by large corporations. This is the dramatic account of two battles waged by Richard McCord with his independent newspapers against the Gannett Company, one of the country's largest newspaper chains.
In Santa Fe, New Mexico, McCord owned one of two small local papers. When Gannett purchased his competing paper, McCord set out to investigate the tactics Gannett had used in the past to obliterate independent competition. His research yielded such ominous reports that McCord decided to publish them in a preemptive strike against the competition. Now it was war—and McCord would soon learn first-hand what he was up against in keeping his paper alive.
Richard McCord has been a professional journalist for more than twenty-five years at Newsday in New York and at the Santa Fe Reporter in New Mexico. His work has been honored for excellence by the Scripps Howard Foundation, the National Press Club, the National Newspaper Association, and Investigative Reporters and Editors.
Richard McCord has been a professional journalist for more than twenty-five years at Newsday in New York and at the Santa Fe Reporter in New Mexico. His work has been honored for excellence by the Scripps Howard Foundation, the National Press Club, the National Newspaper Association, and Investigative Reporters and Editors.
Reviews
“The raw emotion he brings to his battle against Gannett makes The Chain Gang affecting as well as informative.”
“McCord has done something marvelous…He’s taken a deeply disturbing nationwide trend and put it on a small Midwestern stage with real characters. [This] message needs to be heard by as many Americans as read newspapers.”
“A devastating pattern of corporate sleaze…There is no question that McCord has the goods on Gannett, and he is one of the few journalists in America bold enough to reveal them.”
“Nearly impossible to put down.”
“A mind-boggling exposé.”
“Reads like a well-written suspense story with an uncertain conclusion.”
“Blows the lid off of one of modern journalism’s major scandals…a much needed wake-up call for the general public.”
“Blends detective story, drama, and strong research to create a riveting newspaper yarn…For a firsthand look at how media corporations decimate the local newspapers that once reflected a town’s character, this book could become a standard.”
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