Death by Journalism? One Teacher's Fateful Encounter with Political Correctness

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Overview

When Rhonda Winters, director of a satellite campus for a North Carolina community college, offered an adult community-outreach course on the Civil War in the state, she couldn't have imagined the storm of political correctness she was setting into motion and the nightmare it would bring. The course was almost finished, the students enjoying it immensely, when a controversy-seeking reporter clashed with instructors and students and wrote an article falsely claiming the course was teaching that slaves in the South...
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Overview

When Rhonda Winters, director of a satellite campus for a North Carolina community college, offered an adult community-outreach course on the Civil War in the state, she couldn't have imagined the storm of political correctness she was setting into motion and the nightmare it would bring. The course was almost finished, the students enjoying it immensely, when a controversy-seeking reporter clashed with instructors and students and wrote an article falsely claiming the course was teaching that slaves in the South were happy. Picked up by the Associated Press and reprinted worldwide, the article brought a barrage of vituperative news coverage and vilification to the college, resulting in an investigation by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the cancellation of the course. While students, instructors and college officials vigorously proclaimed the reporting to be fabricated, the newspaper's editors insisted that it was accurate and fair -- although evidence in this book shows that they knew otherwise.

In the end, the newspaper's deceptive view prevailed. But in this engrossing, moving, and frightening account, national award-winning journalist Jerry Bledsoe takes readers into the classroom to show what actually happened and behind the scenes as college officials, students and instructors attempted to deal with the crisis. More than that, this book tells the story of an honorable man, Jack Perdue, the regional historian and preservationist who organized the course and died of a heart attack during the controversy, the victim, his family, friends and students believed, of irresponsible journalism and political correctness. Death by Journalism? raises important questions about free speech, academic freedom, racial politics and news media integrity. It should be required reading for anybody who cares about honest and accountable journalism.

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781878086938
  • Publisher: Down Home Press
  • Publication date: 3/1/2002
  • Edition description: 2ND
  • Edition number: 2
  • Pages: 245
  • Sales rank: 998,011
  • Product dimensions: 6.30 (w) x 9.22 (h) x 0.88 (d)

Table of Contents

Foreword vii
Prologue ix
Part 1 Heritage & History 11
Part 2 War in North Carolina 35
Part 3 Civil Wrongs 91
Part 4 Aftershocks 189
Epilogue 231
Afterword 239
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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 13, 2002

    A TRUE STORY OF BAD JOURNALISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I PURCHASED THE BOOK LAST NIGHT AND IT WAS HARD TO PUT DOWN. THE BOOK'S BASIS IS FRESH IN MY MEMORY AS I REMEMBER THE STORY AS IT WAS FIRST REPORTED. I SUSPECTED THE YELLOW ANGLE BUT THERE WAS NOTHING THAT I COULD DO. THANKS TO JERRY FOR EXPOSING WHAT MOST PEOPLE KNOW IF THEY HAVE DONE 'BUSINESS' WITH THE PRESS. I HAVE SEEN GOOD JOURNALISM AND I HAVE SEEN BAD. TRUST ME IT HAPPENS! IF THERE IS A SOCIAL ISSUE THAT THE REPORTER HAS AN OPINION ON OR HIS EDITORIAL STAFF HAS AN OPINION ON THEN ISSUES AT TIMES ARE NOT EVENLY CONSIDERED. I AM AN ELECTED OFFICIAL AND I HAVE BEEN THERE! GREAT JOB JERRY AND THANKS FOR EXPOSING THE DARK SIDE OF JOURNALISM! LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR NEXT BOOK!!!

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