AWARDS FOR FINDING THE NEWS
PRAISE FOR FINDING THE NEWS
“Gorgeous prose, great details, lovely story telling voice.”
– Barton Gellman
Journalist and bestselling author who contributed to three Pulitzer Prizes for the Washington Post
“Peter Copeland has done it all – chased fires, dogged politicians at city hall, and covered the Pentagon; and bylines form 30 countries, often written while in personal peril. Vivid and revealing, inspiring, Finding the News is meant for anyone who wants to understand the craft of reporting.”
– John Maxwell Hamilton, Founding dean, Manship School of Mass Communication Louisiana State University, author of Journalism’s Roving Eye: A History of American Foreign Reporting
“Copeland provides a compelling tale of a young reporter who uses smarts and wits to learn the ropes of newspapering during the Golden Age of American journalism, eventually rising to head a major news bureau in Washington, DC. In addition, his book offers valuable, relevant lessons for young multimedia journalism students in the art of gum shoe reporting, solid human sourcing and impeccable fact checking, the kind of brilliant reporting that toppled a former U.S. president and is needed more than ever in today’s digital age.”
– Zita Arocha, Professor of Practice and Director of Borderzine at the University of Texas El Paso. Former executive director National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
“Peter Copeland is not only a first-rate journalist but an incredible mentor. As a cub reporter in Washington, I learned from him how to dig deeper, ask better questions, write better ledes and break news. These are all skills that made me a better journalist and author. I’m forever indebted to Peter. My career would have been a lot bumpier without his journalistic guidance.”
– Amie Parnes, journalist and co-author of #1 New York Times best-seller Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign
Reviews and Press
“I cringe every time I hear a journalist preface a story with, “if true.” What do you mean, if true? Isn’t that what they are paying us for, to determine if something is true?”
The Beacon, A Career Journalist Reflects on his Field
“Much of what passes for news today is actually people telling us what they think about the news, or worse, how they feel about the news,” said veteran journalist Peter Copeland.
NT alum publishes memoir about life as journalist
“When journalist and author Peter Copeland graduated from New Trier in 1975, he did not have a strong sense of what he wanted to do in the future. Forty-four years later, at the Book Stall of Winnetka he talked to the public about his extensive career in journalism and his latest memoir, Finding The News.”
Overseas Press Club of America: October 2019 Newsletter (Page 10)
“In each new place he reported from, he had to learn the ins and outs of the country while still reporting the facts. Sometimes, though, the facts didn’t tell the whole story. “There were many more than two ways to look at any issue,” Copeland wrote. “And being accurate or even ‘balanced’ wasn’t the same as being honest and true.” His struggles with journalistic ethical dilemmas are important and helpful for young journalists to read about.”
LSU Press Blog: Peter Copeland Talks about Writing about Journalism
A short piece Peter Copeland wrote about studying his favorite memoirs, and how they influenced his book, Finding the News.
Foreword Reviews Book of the Day Roundup October 7-11, 2019
“His reportorial skill comes through most via the in-the-moment storytelling…He details building relationships with military commanders and gaining their trust, showing how that led to better access. But he also writes about…the larger challenges of a reporting life, from the strain of being away from his wife and children to the changes to the news business model that were caused by the internet and a never-ending news cycle.”
International Journalists Network’s Q&A with Peter Copeland.
“The best advice I have is to go and do it — to just start writing. Even if it’s on your own personal social media page, just start writing and start reporting. Look for part-time jobs, or strings, or a chance to tag along and meet other journalists. Try to insert yourself into the news business and see what happens…”
The Numerati: Steven Baker’s Take on Technology and Life
“The fascinating tension in Peter’s memoir runs between his journalistic values–just the facts–and the confusion arising from the context surrounding those facts. Again and again, he finds himself in situations that he doesn’t at first understand. They’re foreign. And he has to make sense of them in order to find and describe the facts.”