Murder in the News

""Murder in the News is a must-read, especially now when crime and punishment, violence and addiction are once again dominating news coverage in Chicago and other cities—big and small—across the country. The book provides crucial context for the scourge and sorrow and how the media handles and mishandles the story every evening at six. I've known and admired Robert H. Jordan Jr. for decades as a fair, honest, and courageous journalist. Murder in the News shows he has not changed a bit.”—Rev. Jesse Jackson“‘If it bleeds it leads' doesn't mean what it used to. Jordan deftly examines how violent crime and murders are covered by television news and how some victims' families may feel that their loved ones have been forgotten. His book successfully pulls the curtain back on news coverage.” —Jeff Pegues, CBS News correspondent and author of Black and Blue“There is no better source on television news in Chicago than Robert H. Jordan Jr., no one more seasoned, astute, and compassionate. Murder in the News is an insightful must-read for both the consumers of the news and those of us who endeavor to cover these fascinating stories.”—John Quiñones, ABC News anchor and correspondent“Jordan combines academic rigor with narrative finesse. His firsthand analysis pinpoints the incentives that drive local TV news coverage and how they inadvertently promote public indifference to the daily calamity of murder in the black ghetto. The good news is that Jordan identifies remedies that can reduce the scope of the tragedy befalling Chicago and other US cities.” —Andrew Rojecki, coauthor of The Black Image in the White Mind, and associate professor of communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago