Dead Before Deadline: ...And Other Tales from the Police Beat (Ohio History and Culture

by Robin Yocum

During the four-plus years that Robin Yocum was the police reporter for the Columbus Dispatch, he covered more than 1,000 deaths. Some were flukes; some were deserved. He interviewed decorated cops and transvestites, pimps, prostitutes, and pushers, killers, and child molesters. He went on drug, porn, and moonshine raids. He waded through cornfields looking for missing planes and children, a county landfill in a vain search for child pornography, through a squalid home with knee-high trash and a flooded basement where a family of ducks had taken up residence. He ruined so many slacks and shoes that he began wearing Sansabelt and cowboy boots because he needed something he could hose off at the end of his shift. Dead Before Deadline...and Other Tales from the Police Beat chronicles Yocum's years on the police beat for the Dispatch. The tales are sometimes sad, and sometimes funny, and sometimes in odd combination of both. Yocum takes the reader into the life behind the pyline and into the gritty world of crime reporting. It is not a rehash of old headlines, but Yocum explores his interactions with people who made headlines for all the wrong reasons. He tells of a prison interview with a 17-year-old who had murdered both parents; recounts the words of a mother who lost her son to senseless violence; and details a grieving father's plan to kill his former son-in-law. The police beat is not without its humor, and Yocum captures the personalities of the oddball set of characters. Yocum has woven together these vignettes into a compelling book that will fascinate and enthrall readers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Journalism

290 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Robin Yocum is the author of the award-winning, critically acclaimed novel, Favorite Sons (June 2012, Arcade Publishing). Favorite Sons was named the 2011 USA Book News Book of the Year for Mystery/Suspense, and is a Choose to Read Ohio selection for 2013-14. His latest novel, The Essay, was released in October 2012 by Arcade. He also is the author of Dead Before Deadline, a compilation of stories from his days as a crime beat reporter with the Columbus Dispatch, and Insured for Murder, which he co-authored with Dispatch colleague Catherine Candisky. Robin joined the Columbus Dispatch as a reporter in 1980 and worked at the paper for eleven years, spending four years on the crime beat, followed by a post as senior reporter on the investigative desk. He won more than 30 local, state and national awards while at the paper. Yocum has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University.

Reviews

[Julie Rawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I REALLY enjoyed his novels. It is an easy read, consisting of brief snippets, character sketches, and retellings of various cases that the author reported on while working at the Columbus Dispatch in the 1980’s. I enjoyed it, especially the second part of the book where the cases were covered in slightly more detail; however, the book itself can’t compare to his later novels.

[Lizett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very entertaining and quick read about Robin Yocum's days as the crime reporter for the Columbus Dispatch. I really enjoyed the funny stories interspersed with the tragic ones. It also had some good insights as to how to get the scoop or interview difficult people, and it was fascinating to read about the back and forth between Yocum and the police agencies.

[Linda Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yocum was a crime reporter for the Columbus Dispatch for only 4 years. Yet here he is in 2023 "earning" a living from this, and other publications, and podcasts based on other people's heartaches. One would think he would have all the "facts" prior to publishing anything. But that's not the case. As a family member of one of the victims in his book he never once contacted us about the details of the crime. Before anyone thinks this is a "vendetta" against the author - 2 other families the author wrote about were in the same support group. And the events he wrote about for those families are not completely factual either. It's a disappointment that before putting this book to print that the author chose not to connect with victims families BEFORE he portrayed this lopsided account of events.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. Small tales about experiences. Having attended a lecture by the author and getting one opinion of the man, I was total surprised by my opinion after finishing the book. Police reporters certainly are a breed of their own and he admits as such in the afterword. Some of his reflections will even make you laugh, but most show the callous side of humanity. A good book to look at that part of our city, Columbus OH. Worth reading if you enjoy his other books

[Kara Prem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book recounting the author's time as a police reporter for the Columbus Dispatch. It was so easy to just immerse yourself in the stories he told. Overall, I had a hard time putting this book down. I remember some of the events and some of the characters, but there was a lot of new to me information as well.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin Yocum writes about the many experiences he had as a crime reporter for the Columbus Dispatch in the early 80’s. His stories range from funny to sad to tragic.

[Pam Kourim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Meeting Robin was exciting!

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love Columbus and I loved hearing all of the author's stories about his time reporting for the city's newspaper. The author's ability to bring the characters to life through his descriptions made me feel like I was right there. Some of the stories were really sad and others were hilarious. This is a great read, especially if you're from Columbus!

[Bobbi Galvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME! Some pretty amazing tales from the Columbus police beat...told with just enough detail and the perfect amount of HEART. Would love to talk to this author for an hour...or five.

[The University of Akron Press]

Dead Before Deadline (Ohio History and Culture) by Robin Yocum (2004)