Chain Gang

Richard McCord has been a professional journalist for more than twenty-five years at Newsday in New York and at the Santa Fe Reporter in New Mexico. His work has been honored for excellence by the Scripps Howard Foundation, the National Press Club, the National Newspaper Association, and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

The Chain Gang's message needs to be heard by as many Americans as read newspapers. - Vanity Fair ""An exceedingly well-told story of McCord's successful fight for survival in Santa Fe, NM, and also of his guerrilla warfare to help another small paper survive (barely) against Gannett's underhanded tactics in Green Bay, Wisconsin.... A first-rate book."" - Washington Post ""McCord has battled the Gannett newspaper giant twice and lived to tell about it in this fascinating book... This book is nearly impossible to put down, for the media curious or those who just like a good scrap."" - Publishers Weekly ""Richard McCord's The Chain Gang takes the losing battle for the soul of American newspapers from the euphoric accounts on financial pages to show what corporate news chains can mean in human terms to the people and the vitality of the victimized cities and towns. His is a unique account of the power and depredations of the Gannett chain under its glib empire builder, Allen Neuharth. It goes behind the facade of slick public relations and financial killings for investors to show what happens when a ruthless and ambitious wheeler-dealer gets control of our news."" - Ben H. Bagdlkian ""This book blends detective story, drama, and strong research to create a riveting newspaper yarn and an unrelenting indictment of the seemingly boundless Gannett newspaper empire."" - Kirkus Reviews