Remembering Bob Greene

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Richard Behar Posted: 10th Jun 2008	We've all been mugged When I heard the news that Newsday legend Bob Greene had died, I walked around with this very real feeling in my gut like he he'd been murdered and I'd been mugged. After a few hours of this bizzarity, it finally dawned on me why this seemed like such an injustice: His legacy is being hacked to death, day after depressing day. Greene was unquestionably one of the greatest figures in American investigative-reporting history. And he hated what was happening in the business. He would sometimes rant about how recent cutbacks in long-form, high-quality journalistic probes were degrading our democracy. As he once told, the founding fathers didn't give us the First Amendment "to publish apple pie recipes." While I was growing up on Long Island, Bob was my teacher, even though we had never met or spoken until decades later when I drove to the island to seek his advice. By the end of that lunch meeting, Greene accepted an invitation to serve as an advisor to our Project Klebnikov, the media alliance formed after Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov was murdered in Moscow. Bob explained the reasoning behind the Arizona Project: "First, we wanted to deliver an object lesson that you don't fuck around with the lives of reporters, because everyone with dirty hands will suffer including the mob. If you kill a reporter, the work will multiply. In this way, the project was also an insurance policy for other investigative reporters. Second, if all this pressure is put on, maybe something will pop up out of it -- some major revelation or reform." I'll miss his hard-boiled advice -- and his lifting me up during those times when our Russian project seemed too daunting. In an era where today's gutless wonders crumble like milquetoasts before their editors in the hope of not being sent packing in the next round of cuts, Greene stood out as an oversized symbol of a kind of rugged integrity that keeps the journalism honest. According to former Newsday editor Tony Marro, Greene once pounded on a wall so hard during an argument with editors that he sent pictures crashing off the wall of the publisher's office next door. (Who would ever slam their office door nowadays, let alone pound on a wall?). He once warned the head of an insurance company that if he paid out any money to cheaply settle a libel case that he (Greene) wouldn't sign any apology and would instead tell the world "that you all wimped out." (Imagine that today, in an era where major media companies routinely and quietly settle libel cases to save money, even when the stories are accurate?) When Newsday's bean counters banned staffers from flying first class, Greene literally measured the size of a coach seat and the size of his not-inconsiderable posterior, and informed the bosses that he'd continue flying in the front of the plane. I won't say rest in peace, Bob, since I know you won't -- given the investigative to-do list that is piling up like weeds in the homeland. (I guess the editors in the sky will have to deal with you now.) As for me, it feels like a lonelier country today without you. So each time I wade through the shallow shlock in our morning papers, I'm just gonna imagine you're close at hand -- spinning in that grave that isn't large enough for you.

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Richard Behar

Posted: 10th Jun 2008

We've all been mugged
When I heard the news that Newsday legend Bob Greene had died, I walked around with this very real feeling in my gut like he he'd been murdered and I'd been mugged. After a few hours of this bizzarity, it finally dawned on me why this seemed like such an injustice: His legacy is being hacked to death, day after depressing day. Greene was unquestionably one of the greatest figures in American investigative-reporting history. And he hated what was happening in the business. He would sometimes rant about how recent cutbacks in long-form, high-quality journalistic probes were degrading our democracy. As he once told, the founding fathers didn't give us the First Amendment "to publish apple pie recipes."
While I was growing up on Long Island, Bob was my teacher, even though we had never met or spoken until decades later when I drove to the island to seek his advice. By the end of that lunch meeting, Greene accepted an invitation to serve as an advisor to our Project Klebnikov, the media alliance formed after Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov was murdered in Moscow. Bob explained the reasoning behind the Arizona Project: "First, we wanted to deliver an object lesson that you don't fuck around with the lives of reporters, because everyone with dirty hands will suffer including the mob. If you kill a reporter, the work will multiply. In this way, the project was also an insurance policy for other investigative reporters. Second, if all this pressure is put on, maybe something will pop up out of it -- some major revelation or reform."
I'll miss his hard-boiled advice -- and his lifting me up during those times when our Russian project seemed too daunting. In an era where today's gutless wonders crumble like milquetoasts before their editors in the hope of not being sent packing in the next round of cuts, Greene stood out as an oversized symbol of a kind of rugged integrity that keeps the journalism honest. According to former Newsday editor Tony Marro, Greene once pounded on a wall so hard during an argument with editors that he sent pictures crashing off the wall of the publisher's office next door. (Who would ever slam their office door nowadays, let alone pound on a wall?). He once warned the head of an insurance company that if he paid out any money to cheaply settle a libel case that he (Greene) wouldn't sign any apology and would instead tell the world "that you all wimped out." (Imagine that today, in an era where major media companies routinely and quietly settle libel cases to save money, even when the stories are accurate?) When Newsday's bean counters banned staffers from flying first class, Greene literally measured the size of a coach seat and the size of his not-inconsiderable posterior, and informed the bosses that he'd continue flying in the front of the plane.
I won't say rest in peace, Bob, since I know you won't -- given the investigative to-do list that is piling up like weeds in the homeland. (I guess the editors in the sky will have to deal with you now.) As for me, it feels like a lonelier country today without you. So each time I wade through the shallow shlock in our morning papers, I'm just gonna imagine you're close at hand -- spinning in that grave that isn't large enough for you.

Author	Message
Terry Greene Sterling Posted: 25th Apr 2008	Bob Greene When Bob camped in my home state to lead the Arizona Project, he soon befriended my extended family of Greenes. Being an investigative reporter, Bob figured out we Arizona Greenes were his distant relatives. I was still in J-school at the time, but Bob and I bonded because we were the only journo-minded Greenes in our far-flung clan. Through the years, I called on him for professional advice. He was a kind listener, and generously shared tips and wisdom. Bob Greene's generosity of spirit, combined with his unwavering drive to get the truth out to his readers, made him one of a kind. --terry greene sterling

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Terry Greene Sterling

Posted: 25th Apr 2008

Bob Greene
When Bob camped in my home state to lead the Arizona Project, he soon befriended my extended family of Greenes. Being an investigative reporter, Bob figured out we Arizona Greenes were his distant relatives.
I was still in J-school at the time, but Bob and I bonded because we were the only journo-minded Greenes in our far-flung clan.
Through the years, I called on him for professional advice. He was a kind listener, and generously shared tips and wisdom.
Bob Greene's generosity of spirit, combined with his unwavering drive to get the truth out to his readers, made him one of a kind.
--terry greene sterling

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Doug Kramer Posted: 15th Apr 2008	Remembering Bob Greene Add my name to that long list of people who will miss Bob. I met him when I spent my vacation working on the Arizona Project. I was a reporter for a small Ohio newspaper, but Bob welcomed me as if I were a Pulitzer Prize winner. I can still picture him in the corner of the room endlessly going over the memos reporters turned in. And I can remember how nervous I was when I turned mine in. Let's just say he was very gracious. Working for Bob was an honor. It was inspiring, educational and fun.

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Doug Kramer

Posted: 15th Apr 2008

Remembering Bob Greene
Add my name to that long list of people who will miss Bob. I met him when I spent my vacation working on the Arizona Project. I was a reporter for a small Ohio newspaper, but Bob welcomed me as if I were a Pulitzer Prize winner. I can still picture him in the corner of the room endlessly going over the memos reporters turned in. And I can remember how nervous I was when I turned mine in. Let's just say he was very gracious. Working for Bob was an honor. It was inspiring, educational and fun.

Author	Message
Steve Doig Posted: 15th Apr 2008	My Greene number Unlike many other long-time IRE members, I never got a chance to work directly with Bob. But he was an inspiration in my very first year as a reporter, when I heard that this guy Greene was leading a group of investigative reporters who gathered in Arizona after the shocking murder of Don Bolles. That's when I began to see investigative work as my new profession's highest calling. Later, after I joined The Miami Herald, I got a chance to work on stories with Bill Montalbano, who had been a Desert Rat for the Arizona Project under Bob's leadership. So I'm proud to claim a Greene Number of 2, having worked with someone who worked with Bob. Even that indirectly, Bob Greene helped me become the reporter I became.

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Steve Doig

Posted: 15th Apr 2008

My Greene number
Unlike many other long-time IRE members, I never got a chance to work directly with Bob. But he was an inspiration in my very first year as a reporter, when I heard that this guy Greene was leading a group of investigative reporters who gathered in Arizona after the shocking murder of Don Bolles. That's when I began to see investigative work as my new profession's highest calling. Later, after I joined The Miami Herald, I got a chance to work on stories with Bill Montalbano, who had been a Desert Rat for the Arizona Project under Bob's leadership. So I'm proud to claim a Greene Number of 2, having worked with someone who worked with Bob. Even that indirectly, Bob Greene helped me become the reporter I became.

Author	Message
Joe Schneider Posted: 15th Apr 2008	Bob Greene I was saddened by the death of Bob Greene, but the gloom was eclipsed by the memories of his investigative work and leadership of IRE. Bob's tour of the crime families' haunts in NYC was a classic. I've heard many great stories from reporters who worked with him.

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Total number of entries: 21.	Page: [ First ][ < ][ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ > ][ Last ]