A Small Story for Page 3
Harry
Fletcher can’t for the life of him figure out what exactly the ‘nugget’ of
information his colleague, Eddie Concannon, uncovered prior to his death is.
Picking his way along the threads of information, Harry soon finds himself at
odds with government officials and his own newspaper seems to be involved in
the collusion. Join Harry as he
deciphers the clues and enjoy a journey into the world of investigative
reporting set against a colorful back drop of characters and locations.
Short Excerpt from A Small Story for Page 3
"Oddly enough, ladies and
gentlemen of the TV audience," Harry announced in his persona as Larry
Largelungs of Action Central News, "the condemned man was smiling and
singing as he approached the gallows."
The mood changed when he
arrived at Wear's office to find the executive editor and the managing editor
waiting and somberly reading printouts of the story.
"This thing has to be
settled today," Wear said. "It's gone on long enough, it's tied us in
knots, and we need to find a solution."
"I thought we had
one," Harry said. "The story shows he has been sailing under false
colors as a corruption fighter by trying to protect one of the targets of the
investigation with whom he had a connection, perhaps lucrative, not previously
disclosed."
"We're not the ones who
have to be convinced," Mike reminded him.
When they walked into
Marcotte's office, it was obvious he was not prepared to be persuaded. The
publisher remained behind his huge mahogany desk and with a brusque gesture he
seated the others at the small conference table.
"I've read the story you
people seem to think should run on Page One as soon as possible," he said,
"I think it’s still libelous horseshit, and I intend to spike it, this
time for good. You still have no hard evidence that Tyler Bannister resisted
Phase Two because of some personal concern. But Tyler denies it flat-out and
there's no quote from him to corroborate it."
Harry was trying to contain
his fury. "The only quote from him in reply was “go fuck yourself.” Do you
want to use that?"
"Don't be flippant,
Fletcher, this is a serious question."
"We all understand that,
Dave," Wear said, stepping in quickly. "If you want a clearer denial
in more decorous terms, we can do that."
"A denial isn't going to
change the fact that we are doing serious damage to Tyler Bannister's
reputation and potentially his political career," Marcotte said, his voice
rising. "I don't intend to be a party to that."
"That was never our
intention," Wear said. "We've gone where the story has taken us. The
truth is that this episode raises serious questions about Bannister's
candidacy."
"It shows him interceding
in behalf of a friend and former business associate in an official
investigation," Harry said with some heat. "That's a part of the
truth about him that we know but our readers do not."
"Don't give me that truth
and readers crap, Fletcher," the publisher said. "I remember you
calling him a trimmer way back there. You had it in for him from the start. So
did Concannon."
"This story quotes Tom
Lawton saying Bannister called him with a warning about being on Carvaggio's
list of targets and it quotes Rudy Myers as confirming that Bannister ordered
Lawton's name stricken from that list once he agreed to retire from the
bench."
"I know what the story
says but, as I told you earlier, Fletcher," Marcotte said, "it is the
publisher, not the reporter, who decides what appears in the News and I have
made the decision on this one." After an interminable twenty seconds of
silence, he continued, "I think we're through here, gentlemen. Thanks for
coming in." When the elevator dropped them at the third floor, Wear
beckoned them into his office and closed the door on Meg. "I don't know
what we do now," he said.
"What you and Mike
do," Harry said, "is keep faith with the good people here who depend
on you to let them put out a good newspaper and hope for change. What I do, is
clean a few things out of my desk and walk out of the building. I don't have
any choice now."
"What are you going to do
about the story," Mike asked.
"I haven't thought it
through, Mike, but I'm not going to give it to the Trib or some television
station. I don't know if the story is mine to use elsewhere or what. It would
take a lot of time and effort for anyone else to duplicate it."
Wear had a different concern.
"What are you going to say when the word gets out that you've left the
building?" he asked.
"I could just tell the
truth—that I have left the News after almost thirty years because of a decision
by the publisher to spike a story I wrote. Period." He laughed. "I'll
leave it to Amy Whiting to fill in the blanks."
At Wear's office door, he
turned to his two old friends. "Look, this isn't the end of the world.
Let's all have dinner later in the week, some place public for all to see.
Meanwhile, I'll keep you posted."
1. Tell us about your book and how the story came to be.
Jack’s book is a newspaper/political tale, which certainly
makes sense since he knew them best – Jacl was a newspaper man for almost 60
years and spent most of his time covering national politics. The issues raised in the book are ones that
mirror some of the questions in today’s newspaper and political
world.
2. What three words best
describe your main character?
Jack’s main character is much like
him: tough, smart, ethical and
occasionally vulnerable.
3. Do you have a method for creating your characters, their
names and what do you think
makes them believable?
Jack spent a
lot of time naming his characters and he enjoyed coming up with names that
fit. He created his characters
partly from being the observer he’s been and partly from fiction – or what
he expected them to be.
4.
Do your characters follow your plot path or do they take on a life of
their own? Do you keep them in check?
As
Jack wrote he discovered the characters took on a life of their own. At one point when he was puzzling over some
development and we were chatting about it I made a suggestion, he told me that
was a great idea but the character wouldn’t do that. So I think there were some checks but mostly
the plot and the characters’ development, true to the characters and what they
would do.
5. Have
you ever suffered from writer’s block? If so, how did you over come it?
Jack never had any trouble writing, did
it his whole life, loved it and often said he would have done it for
nothing. However, he was a bit
reluctant at first to write a novel, fearing it wouldn’t be good. I’m glad I encouraged him to do it –
leap and the net will appear – plus I would have told him if it wasn’t.
6. What
types of books do you like to read?
Jack liked mysteries and realistic
fiction best.
7. What
do you like to do when you aren’t writing?
Jack loved the race track, good
conversation over dinner with friends and wine and extending the
evening. He liked reading the
newspaper daily sitting on the deck with his coffee and watching the
bluebirds nest. A drink on the deck
at sunset sharing the day was another pleasure.
8. What’s
next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?
Sadly, Jack passed away on August 14th
so this is his last work.
9. What’s
the best piece of writing advice you’ve received?
I would guess, “Just do it.” Jack wrote fast, clearly, and as a
newspaperman would, without a lot of artifice.
Jack Germond (January 30, 1928 – August 14, 2013) was
a retired newspaper man, columnist and TV pundit. But like a Thoroughbred
racehorse, a reporter never actually retires—he just writes about other things.
The author brings his vast knowledge and understanding of the press and the
business of getting the information to public to bear in his breakout novel, A
Small Story for Page 3. Mr. Germond was nationally known as a bemused liberal
and was a regular on The McLaughlin Group as well as appearing on other public
affairs TV programs — CNN, Meet The Press and The Today Show among others. He
covered ten presidential elections, and with Jules Witcover wrote a book
covering each presidential election from 1980 to 1992. Timothy Crouse made
Germond a prominent figure in “Boys on the Bus” his acclaimed book on the 1972
presidential election. Mr. Germond has previously published two non-fiction
books, his memoir “Fat Man in A Middle Seat” (Random House 2002) and “Fat Man
Fed Up” (Random House 2005) a scride on the decline of politics in
the United States. Along with Jules Witcover he wrote a syndicated column that
ran in 140 papers five days a week from 1977
to 2001. 2000.
Chris Farley once spoofed Germond on Saturday
Night Live. Germond was known for his no nonsense approach to reporting and his
love of good food, good liquor and good friends. He instituted The Germond Rule
which two generations of political reporters have adhered to. The rule
simply stated that when a group of reporters dined together the tab would be
split evenly, no matter who ate or drank more. This caused his many friends to
eat and drink defensively when covering stories and enjoying good company.
Jack
Germond was one of a kind and he will be missed. MuseItUp Publishing is proud
to publish his first and only fiction novel.
Alice Germond is the Secretary Emeritus of the
Democratic National Committee.
She was elected Secretary unopposed three times from
2002 to January 2013. Alice also served on the Executive Committee, the Rules
and By-Laws Committee and as Secretary for the Democratic National Convention
where she called the role of states that determines the Party's nominee. Alice
has participated in every Convention since 1974 when the Party wrote its
National Charter.
Alice currently is an
elected At-Large member of the DNC and serves on the Resolutions Committee.
Active in the Democratic Party for over 45 years, she has held leadership
positions in local, state and national campaigns including Political Director
for Clinton/Gore in CA, Deputy National Political Director for Michael Dukakis,
and Super Delegate Director for Gary Hart. In 1988 Alice moved to Washington
DC, and became Director of Political Operations for Ron Brown's successful
election as Chair of the DNC. She was named his Senior Advisor, coordinating
DNC Party Programs and was his liaison to the 1992 Convention. From 1993—1996
she was Director of the DNC's Government and Party Affairs Departments.
A strong advocate for issues and party values, Alice led the historic effort
to put Geraldine Ferraro on the Democratic Ticket while Chair of the National
Women's Political Caucus Democratic Task Force. During her tenure as Executive
Vice President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, Fortune Magazine ranked NARAL as
the most effective women's organization in the nation. Alice also worked for
the AFL-CIO's Women's Division and for SEIU. One of Alice's earliest
experiences was participating in Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A
Dream" March on the National Mall.
Alice has broad experience as a speaker and working with the press. Her
op-eds have been published by major newspapers and on the internet, and in 1995
CBS hired Alice for their special Convention Coverage Unit. She has spoken at
Party Events in 50+ States and for the campaigns, organizations and issues with
which she is identified. Her international work includes lectures at Tsinghua
University in Beijing, leader of two delegations to Taiwan, presentations in
Madrid, London, Barcelona, Toronto, the Virgin Islands and several NDI
exchanges including one for the European Parliament.
In 2013 President Barack Obama appointed Alice to the prestigious Commission
on White House Fellows where she currently serves. Prior commissions include
the CA Council on Criminal Justice (Gov. E G Brown, Jr.) and the LA Olympics
Government Affairs Committee.
Alice earned her BA from Bennington College, VT in 1965 where she received a
non-resident term scholarship and was Chair of the school legislature.
Her MS Degree in Public
Administration/Recreation was awarded in 1977 from CA State Un. LA with a 4.0
average.
Now living on a bend of the Shenandoah River in West Virginia, Alice grows
vegetables and fruits, goes running with her dog Freddy, and watches the bald
eagles who have returned to the region. Coffee on the deck, warm conversation with
many friends and visits from six grandchildren are a constant pleasure.
A SMALL STORY FOR PAGE 3 by
Jack W. Germond
I never expected my first review for author Jack W. Germond to be my last, but
I guess if it has to be the last, it might as well be a top notch book to
review...and that's the case here.
Inside a major D.C. Newspaper hub where the busy world of digging out political
intrigue is daily fair that makes the headlines and sells the papers, Jack W.
Germond has created a tense, boiler pot of a story. He shows one and all the
glamour we all think the media news possesses is actually coated beneath many
layers of tarnish, some obvious, some concealed, some seedy, and some spreading
like a dry rot through the majestic limbs of our stately cherry trees.
No one alive today can look at the day-to-day business that transpires within
the Beltway and not know lies, deceit, and subterfuge play huge parts in
creating the ever shifting sands creating the foundation of politics. Jack
Germond's ace reporter, Harry Fletcher knows this seedy world very well, and
plays it with the panache of a man who's been at it for a long time.
Upon the death of his colleague and friend, Harry is given what those in the
business call a "nugget"...a story not fully developed, and told to
flesh it out...find the meat...get the story...if it really exists, but keep it
close to his chest.
Treacherous waters. Harry must swim upstream against the odds, but when he does,
who will he uncover are the real sharks waiting to tear him fin from fin?
This is a gripping story I read from beginning to end in one sitting. Mr.
Germond's story telling skills captivated and had me cheering Harry Fletcher on
as he came up against obstacle after obstacle and obstacle while ferreting out
the truth.
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