Hello friends. My memoir, “Confessions of an Investigative Reporter,” will be released May 26. There is a reason I put “Confessions“ in the title. Here is an excerpt:

Although I won some awards and lasted twenty years in the biggest market in the country, I did not have the best on-camera presence. I had a nasally voice, a New York accent, and a weight problem during my last twenty-five years on TV.

However, I worked hard and was consistent over a long run, like former major league pitcher Don Sutton. In twenty-three seasons, he won twenty games only once. He was never what’s called “tenure dominant.” But Sutton is in the Hall of Fame for his steady excellence.

My job was to inform viewers by exposing bad actors or practices. That was my goal when deciding to be a reporter while a junior in high school. I would eventually become a survivor in a competitive business driven by ratings and strong personalities.

I saw solid reporters get fired simply because new bosses wanted reporters they had worked with previously. I saw reporters quit before they reached age fifty due to burnout or job frustrations. They wanted less stressful jobs with better hours. During my run, I told approximately 10,000 stories. But there were hundreds more I couldn’t tell.

Some weren’t politically correct enough for management. Others were deemed inappropriate or irrelevant. And many stories weren’t told simply due to the time constraints of local news. Finally, many of those gems now have a home in these pages.

Stay healthy and safe.

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