Former journalist discusses why he left the field in a new book
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Asia Tabb
Aired; October 14th, 2024.
Ted Czech spent 25 years as a journalist before he left the industry in 2021. He just published a book, Saving the Beast: A recovering reporter reflects on America’s broken media and how to fix it.
Czech got his official start in news in 1996 in Rhode Island.
“There’s a guy that he was a millionaire, Ernie, and he wanted to start up a newspaper. And because he didn’t like his hometown newspaper that had been there for so long. And so, he started this newspaper. And five and a half months later, they think tank. But I got a great amount of experience out of that. And I already have a degree in criminal justice. So, I was able to parlay that into this job as a crime reporter. And I was also in school for journalism at the time. And so, I took a leave of absence from the University of Rhode Island to take this full-time job. And then when it was over, I just went right back to school.”
Five years before leaving his career behind, he realizes a shift in the media.
I saw a lot of people who were upset at the media, and they were frustrated with the media, and they were taking there, as I say in the book, they were taking their time and their money, and they were going elsewhere with it other than the mainstream media. That’s why I felt compelled to write the book.”
Czech is hoping that readers feel informed and entertained when reading the book.
“it’s a tremendous profession to be in. It’s a burden in some ways. But I say that people have the right to know, and journalists have a duty to report. Or maybe it’s the other way. Journalists have a duty to report, and the public has a right to know. I think that’s the way that I put it. And I came to that phrase because at some point, this was another reason why I left journalism and wrote the book.
