A free chapter from The Gray Lady Winked

I shot out of bed one morning knowing it had to be done. I had to publish this book. Though I’d written The Gray Lady Winked 15 years ago, I knew in my gut—in my pre-coffee lizard brain—that this was the moment. Why?

Because, today, media is everything. It’s the lens that shapes our reality. And it’s also deeply flawed. It’s undergoing profound change. It’s losing our trust. Rapidly.

With The Gray Lady Winked, I wanted to show how the news media goes wrong—and what happens when it does. I wanted to understand what history-changing cases of misreporting look like. And I wanted to do it by starting with the world’s most famous (or infamous) newspaper, the New York Times.

In Chapter 1, “Operation Canned Goods: Minding the Nazis Less Than Most,” the book takes a surgical knife to one of the most egregious cases of media malfeasance in history: the New York Times’ decision to keep a known Nazi sympathizer (though I prefer the term collaborator) as its bureau chief in the lead up to, and during, the Second World War.

The story is as chilling as it is compelling. And it’s here for you to enjoy, gratis. Just click the link below to claim your free chapter.