Chasing the Truth: A Young Journalist's Guide to Investigative Reporting: She Said Young Readers Edition

by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey, Ruby Shamir Narrated by Rebecca Lowman

Overview

The perfect book for all student journalists, this young readers adaptation of the New York Times bestselling She Said by  Pulitzer Prize winning reporters' Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey will inspire a new generation of young journalists.
 
Soon to be a major motion picture!

Do you want to know how to bring secrets to light?
How journalists can hold the powerful to account?
And how to write stories that can make a difference?

In Chasing the Truth, award-winning journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey share their thoughts from their early days writing their first stories to their time as award-winning investigative journalists, offering tips and advice along the way. Adapted from their New York Times bestselling book She Said, Chasing the Truth not only tells the story of the culture-shifting Harvey Weinstein investigation, but it also shares their best reporting practices with readers. This is the perfect book for aspiring journalists or anyone devoted to uncovering the truth.
 
Praise for the New York Times bestseller She Said:
 
“Exhilarating...Kantor and Twohey have crafted their news dispatches into a seamless and suspenseful account of their reportorial journey.”
- Susan Faludi, The New York Times
 
“An instant classic of investigative journalism...`All the President's Men' for the Me Too era.”
- Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post
 
“A vibrant, cinematic read.”
-Jill Filipovic, CNN
 
“Deeply suspenseful.”
-Annalisa Quinn, NPR

* This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF of the October 5, 2017 New York Times article by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, with sidebar commentary on tips for investigative reporting.

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

11/01/2021

Gr 9 Up—On October 5, 2017, two New York Times reporters broke the story of Harvey Weinstein's serial sexual harassment. Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey had a long journey in publishing this article and were met with many roadblocks and speed bumps. Together they contacted numerous people, including famous actresses and employees of Miramax and The Weinstein Company. Based on the subject of their article, they had to tread lightly and be sensitive to the survivors with whom they spoke. Weinstein and his team did not make publishing the story easy for them, but in the end, Kantor and Twohey's investigative journalism won out. This is a young reader's adaptation of their She Said. The subtitle might lead readers to believe that this is a how-to guide. Instead, it is a narrative of the authors' investigative journalism experience of the Weinstein story, and it also briefly covers the aftermath. In reading the well-presented report, readers get an inside look into investigative journalism and how it can be a long and challenging process. Readers can find a list of easy-to-follow tips at the end of the book. The book is well written, but the information presented could be challenging to retain. VERDICT This may be hard to hand to teens, but those who are fans of investigative journalism and high-profile cases will devour it.—Amanda Borgia, Uniondale P.L., NY

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2021-06-29
In this adaptation of their bestselling She Said (2019), two journalists for the New York Times describe the reporting process that led to their breaking the story of Harvey Weinstein’s serial sexual harassment.

In 2017, journalist Kantor, who had spent some years unearthing and reporting on corporate gender bias, convinced actress Rose McGowan to talk to her about mistreatment of women in the entertainment industry and, specifically, about an incident with the noted producer. This was the beginning of a monthslong investigation by Kantor and fellow reporter Twohey that culminated in a series of stories that fanned the flames of the #MeToo movement and led to the loss of Weinstein’s job, reputation, and freedom following a court conviction. Adapter Shamir has tightened the narrative in the adult original and focused it more sharply on the reporting of that particular story. This version introduces more background information about the reporters and the reasons behind their methods; removes stories about Donald Trump, Christine Blasey Ford, and Brett Kavanaugh; and includes a final section containing solid advice for aspiring teen journalists. Throughout this fast-paced and gripping account, they show how the process of carrying out this type of groundbreaking investigative work is accomplished. Their eye-opening revelations will inspire and leave an indelible mark on readers.

A timely, critical read about the ways power and privilege work in our society. (note to readers, endnotes) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173164537
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	11/16/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

Dear readers,

Welcome to our book and our partnership. In these pages, we’re inviting you on a journey to find the truth, hear from people who had previously been silenced, and hold powerful wrongdoers accountable.

This is also an invitation into investigative journalism.

You’re probably already immersed in general news coverage, reporting that accurately describes what’s visible in the world around us. Presidential elections. Natural disasters. The deaths of notable public figures. This kind of journalism can connect us with other people’s struggles and joys and make all of us witnesses to history. Many school papers include news reporting: on basketball games won or lost, or the appointment of a new principal.

Investigative reporting has a different goal: to uncover what’s been hidden, to reveal injustice or other wrongdoing. It isn’t about being an activist or advocating for a particular point of view—the only agenda is to follow the facts. Because facts are so powerful, this work can spur tremendous change. Over the years, investigative reporters have broken stories that have touched every aspect of our daily lives, spurring social movements, shifts in power, reforms, and greater safety. By investigating a break-in at the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, DC, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein revealed corruption that reached the highest levels of the White House and eventually brought down the Nixon presidency. We are proud that our investigation of harassment and abuse by the powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein fits into this tradition.

As you read this book, we want you to feel included and inspired. Maybe you don’t know any reporters or authors or don’t recognize many from backgrounds similar to yours. It’s possible that you rarely encounter print newspapers in your community. Social media may be the main way that you and your friends get and share information. But young journalists can do investigative reporting as well. If you found that wealthy students were deploying test preparation and private counselors to an unfair advantage in college admissions, or that local elementary schools didn’t have air-conditioning in the hot summers, or that the football team was hazing new members in abusive ways—those stories could light up discussion in your community and perhaps spur action.

In this book, we’ve tried to turn our work on Harvey Weinstein into a manual for this type of reporting. (To avoid confusion, we write about ourselves in the third person. In a first-person account of our reporting, which was collaborative but often involved us following separate threads, “I” could be either Jodi or Megan.)

Thank you for joining us for the duration of these pages, for puzzling through these events and clues as we have, for witnessing what we witnessed, and for hearing what we heard. We hope you feel welcome and that you’ll consider a lifetime commitment to this work, as a journalist, a source, or a reader.

Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey

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