David Randall, author of The Universal Journalist, presents 13 in-depth profiles of the best journalists who ever lived - nine Americans and four Britons, ten men and three women, whose lives were full of adventure, wit and the ingenuity to bring the story home.


Discover the reporter who:

Booked himself onto a ship likely to be sunk by the Germans so he could report it's torpedoing

Was called out to a multiple shooting, who interviewed 50 witnesses, went back to the office and wrote a Pulitzer prize-winning story of 4,000 words in two and a half hours

Was deemed useless by her teacher but who went on to become the greatest crime reporter in history

Wrote a story the changed the map of Europe

Single-handedly took on the tobacco industry

Each profile describes the reporter's life and major stories, how they were obtained, and their impact. Packed with anecdotes, and inspiring accounts of difficulties overcome, the book quotes extensively from each reporterıs work. There's also a chapter on the history of reporting, charting the technologies and attitudes that made it the way it is from the invention of the telegraph to the Internet. The Great Reporters is not just the story of 13 remarkable people, it is the story of how societyıs information hunter-gatherers succeed in bringing us all what we need to know.

'Entertaining, amusing, even inspirational. Above all, what every good reporter aims to deliver, a great read.' Peter Cole, Professor of Journalism at the University of Sheffield

All text and logos copyright David Randall

Book cover images copyright Pluto Press