Bibliograph

The columnist, leaks, lies, and libel in Drew Pearson's Washington, Donald A. Ritchie

Type

Label

The columnist, leaks, lies, and libel in Drew Pearson's Washington, Donald A. Ritchie

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-353) and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The columnist

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1184233256

Responsibility statement

Donald A. Ritchie

Sub title

leaks, lies, and libel in Drew Pearson's Washington

Summary

"In the Washington Merry-Go-Round, a nationally syndicated newspaper column that appeared in hundreds of papers from 1932 to 1969, as well as on weekly radio and television programs, the investigative journalist Drew Pearson revealed news that public officials tried to suppress. He disclosed policy disputes and political spats, exposed corruption, attacked bigotry, and promoted social justice. He pumped up some political careers and destroyed others. Presidents, prime ministers, and members of Congress repeatedly called him a liar, and he was sued for libel more often than any other journalist, but he won most of his cases by proving the accuracy of his charges. Pearson dismissed most official news as propaganda and devoted his column to reporting what officials were doing behind closed doors. He broke secrets-even in wartime-and revealed classified information. Fellow journalists credited him with knowing more dirt about more people in Washington than even the FBI and compared his efforts to Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers or Edward Snowden with WikiLeaks, except that he did it daily. The Columnist examines how Pearson managed to uncover secrets so successfully and why government efforts to find his sources proved so unsuccessful. Drawing on a half century of archival evidence it assesses his contributions as a muckraker by verifying or refuting both his accusations and his accusers"--, Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

Introduction: the man who broke secrets -- Launching the column -- Nothing to fear -- Breaking secrets in wartime -- Drew Pearson's leg men -- Just mild about Harry -- The case against Congress -- Battling McCarthyism -- Disliking Ike -- Between Kennedy and Khrushchev -- Lyndon's lackey? -- Prisoner of the merry-go-round -- Epilogue: a muckraker's legacy

Classification