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Death by Journalism? Down Home Press When Rhonda Winters, director of the Archdale campus of Randolph Community College, decided to offer an adult, community outreach course on the Civil War in North Carolina, she couldn't have imagined the storm of political correctness she was setting into motion and the nightmare it would bring. The course was almost finished, and the students were enjoying it immensely, when a controversy-seeking reporter for the News & Record of Greensboro, who had entered the class without permission, clashed with instructors and students and wrote an article falsely claiming that the course was teaching that slaves in the South were happy. Picked up by the Associated Press and reprinted worldwide, the article brought a barrage of vituperative news coverage and vilification to the college. Although students, instructors and college officials protested that the newspaper's sensational claims never happened, News & Record editors insisted that its articles were fair and accurate—even after evidence indicated otherwise. The articles resulted in branding the college, students and instructors as racist, and brought about an investigation by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the cancellation of the course. In this engrossing, moving, and frightening account, national award-winning journalist and New York Times #1 best-selling author Jerry Bledsoe takes readers into the class to show what actually happened and behind the scenes as college officials, students, and instructors attempted to deal with the crisis. But more than that, it tells the story of an honorable man, Jack Perdue, the course instructor, a local historian and preservationist, who died during the controversy. A man whom family, friends and students believe was destroyed by the news media. Death by Journalism? raises important questions about free speech, academic freedom, political correctness, racial politics, and integrity of the news media. It should be required reading for journalism students.
Reviews “Jack Perdue, an amateur historian, developed a course on North Carolina's role in the Civil War for an adult education program at a small community college. Because the class was partially sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), a group devoted to Confederate history and the flag, it caught the attention of an ambitious young reporter. Never bothering to check the facts, the reporter alleged that the course defended slavery and taught that blacks were happy as slaves and fought for the Confederacy in significant numbers. The distorted news article sparked a firestorm of controversy and negative publicity, and triggered contentious debates between hate groups and civil rights advocacy groups. Bledsoe, a former reporter and best-selling author, retraces the events that led to national attention as the media blindly accepted and re-reported the original story. This book raises some important issues, especially our seeming reluctance to closely examine the history of American slavery.” “Jerry Bledsoe shows what happens when journalists misuse their vast power, sometimes by hitting too hard and then other times failing to act at all—including failing to admit horrible mistakes and not doing much to offset the damage. Every reporter in the world should read this book and have it be a guide to prudent journalism.” “Rhonda Winters was the director of a satellite campus for a North Carolina community college who offered an adult community–outreach course on the Civil War, a course of studies organized by regional historian and preservationist Jack Perdue. The course was almost finished (and the students were both learning the material and enjoying the experience) when a reporter wrote an article falsely claiming that Winters was teaching that slaves in the South were happy with their condition. Originally published in a local paper, the defamatory article was picked up by the Associated Press and reprinted worldwide, bring Winters a barrage of vituperative news coverage defaming both her and the college, and resulting in an investigation by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, as well as the cancellation of the course. Even when students, instructors, and college officials clearly proclaimed the article to be false, the newspaper’s editors backed the reporter. In the end, the newspaper's deceptive view prevailed, despite a wealth of evidence laid out in the pages of Death By Journalism? Here is a focused spotlight on one of journalism's most irresponsible episodes, a scenario that did real harm to real people and discredited the profession to all who knew where the truth really lay. Put very simply, Death By Journalism? should be required reading for every journalism student in every college and university in this country.”
Links Visit Jerry Bledsoe’s Web site at http://www.jerrybledsoe.com/. Also by Jerry Bledsoe:
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