EVENTS
From Fact to Fiction
Mystery author and former journalist Brad Parks talks about the connection between fiction and reporting
PHOTO BY SARAH HOWARD
On April 18, 2013 former journalist and award-winning crime author Brad Parks spoke as part of a Minnesota Journalism Center (MJC) event that explored the connection between journalistic reporting and fictional writing. “The ability to tell stories sets the human species apart,” Parks said. “I spent my life developing a sense of what a good story is, and that translates to journalistic writing or fictional writing.” Parks admits many of his fictional ideas stem from the world around him. “Many of my characters and storylines aren’t far from real-life,” he said. He also spoke about how a reporter’s insistence on the truth can help when creating fiction. “When you’re telling a story, ‘something’ happened. Your job is to find the truth about the ‘something.’” But, for Parks, the transition into fiction wasn’t easy. “It took me a while to learn that it was OK to make stuff up,” he said. “I was definitely worried about angry letters,” he admitted. Parks talked about how freeing fictional writing can be and how having time to in-
vestigate a story is liberating if you’re used to the “grind” of daily journalism. “Telling the truth takes time, which you don’t always have with daily journalism,” he said. “When you’re writing a book, you have the time to investigate details and places that you might not have as a journalist at a newspaper.” Parks started his journalistic career at age 14 and founded a weekly sports newspaper he ran out of his dorm room at Dartmouth College. After graduating, he began a 20-year career in journalism before turning to fiction writing in 2008. He held reporting roles at The Washington Post and The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger. Parks’ most recent novel, “The Good Cop,” follows his perennial protagonist, investigative journalist Carter Ross through the world of gun smuggling. His former novels, also centered around Ross, are “Faces of the Gone,” “Eyes of the Innocent,” and “The Girl Next Door.” He is currently at work on his fifth Carter Ross mystery. –S.H.
Journalists Cover Conflict
10 years after start of the Middle East conflict, journalists share first-hand stories and reflections
On Feb. 26, 2013 — nearly 10 years after the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom — the MJC welcomed a group of journalists who have covered the conflict to explore the effect of media coverage on the entire region. The talk was moderated by Professor William Beeman, chair of the University of Minnesota Department of Anthropology. Beeman helped set the stage by giving an overview of the state-of-affairs in the Middle East today. Following Beeman’s introduction, Reese Erlich, freelance journalist and author of “Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn’t Tell You” and “Conversations with Terrorists: Middle East Leaders on Politics, Violence and Empire,” spoke about the effect that American media coverage had during the tense era. Erlich was followed by a group of local journalists who worked on the ground in the Middle East in the decade after 9/11: Jeff Severns Guntzel, who reported for media website Electronic Iraq and Paul McEnroe, investigative reporter at the Star Tribune. –S.H.
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PHOTOS BY SUE COULING
1: Reese Erlich. 2: Jeff Severns Guntzel. 3: Professor William Beeman, chair of the University of Minnesota Department of Anthropology.
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3 Murphy Reporter
SPRING 2013
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