Hardy/Friedland

by Greg Donahue

A lonely chalet at the summit of a snow-capped peak was the last place you would expect to find David Hardy. As an intrepid political reporter for the Daily News, the New Jersey native spent most of his time cornering officials in the halls and backrooms of the state's government buildings or poring over the endless handwritten notes that covered his cluttered newsroom desk. In fact, the flight to Switzerland was one of the first times that Hardy had ever been on a plane.  But in March of 1986, a cassette tape landed on Hardy's desk that changed everything. The voice on the recording belonged to a dead man, an allegedly corrupt state senator from New Jersey named David Friedland, who had downed a cocktail of barbiturates and alcohol before a scuba diving outing in the Bahamas. According to initial reports, Friedland never resurfaced from the dive, but federal investigators believed otherwise. They were convinced the brash politician had faked his own death to avoid prosecution for accepting kickbacks. To Hardy's amazement, the tape confirmed their suspicions. “I am alive and in fear for my life,” Friedland began, his anxiety cutting through the scratchy analog recording. Hardy's reporting from the trip earned awards, accolades, and a Pulitzer nomination for investigative reporting, but it wasn't just the scoop of a lifetime. It was the chance to cement an immutable journalistic legacy. That's because, at the same time he was traveling in secret halfway around the world, Hardy was also suing his employer for racial discrimination. The Daily News - the same paper that had nominated him for journalism's top prize - refused to settle and Hardy, along with three co-plaintiffs, wouldn't back down. Hardy/Friedland tells the story of David Hardy's journalistic legacy and David Friedland's brazen escape from justice through the eyes of the relentless reporter. One part globetrotting journalist chasing the scoop of a lifetime, and one part tense courtroom drama, Hardy/Friedland shines a light on a pioneering reporter and the largely forgotten legacy of a lawsuit that changed newsrooms across the country. Indeed, the landmark case marked the first time that editorial employees took a newsroom discrimination suit to trial. As the journalist Causewell Vaughn once said, “Every time a person of color breaks through that glass ceiling in journalism, they have David Hardy to thank.”

Genres: Politics

Audible Audio

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent biographical story around a 1960s newspaper reporter most likely don't know of.

[Blaine Strickland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this audiobook, available via Audible over a week. Narrated and very well researched by the author. The audiobook contains several clips of live recordings. This is the story of an imperfect but dogged black reporter chasing major corruption-related stories in New York and New Jersey in the 1960s-1980s. It's encouraging that the reporter (Hardy) and his allies finally won their long-fought discrimination suit, but discouraging that the politicians (Friedland) were so routinely dishonest.

[Siobhain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is primarily the story of David Hardy, a black journalist from New Jersey who in the 1970's and 1980's won awards for his writing while putting up with racial discrimination at the Daily News. In the spirit of Jackie Robinson, at first Hardy kept quiet about the racial slurs and just shook them off, trying to be the better man and doing his best work in an effort to gain the respect of others through his abilities. In time, he and other black employees began sharing their experiences of not only racist comments but also systemic refusal to give them raises or promotions. Not only that, when Hardy or others complained or raised issues, they were demoted, had stories taken away from them, or were transferred away from developed sources and connections to lesser offices in the paper's network. In time he and four other employees sued the Daily Times for discrimination and won their suit after a fierce seven year battle. Hardy, in particular, held out on making a settlement after the verdict in their favor until The Daily Times agreed to affirmative action efforts which ensured that not only would minorities be hired but would also would be promoted throughout the company. David Friedman was, in my opinion, a seedy politician and business man who, though convicted, never truly saw the error of his mistakes. He and Hardy developed a friendship and respect for one another so that Friedman turned to Hardy multiple times, giving Hardy access to information, enabling Hardy to break news stories before the information was known to others.

Kudos to author Greg Donohue for tracking down David Hardy's story and using the immense treasure trove of Hardy's notes and tapes so well. Over time Hardy's story has become lost and should be made known. Once upon a time, some might not have valued Hardy as his life trajectory turned sour after the court case. However, today that is better understood as the toll that racism takes on a person's life. I highly recommend this Audible original. The audio story includes taped excerpts from the life of Hardy. These are historical gold mines but sometimes difficult to understand. It made me wish an audio book could have captions. I highly recommend giving this a listen.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Every time a person of color breaks through that glass ceiling in journalism, they have David Hardy to thank.”
I found this roughly ninety minute true crime story, an Audible Original by Greg Donahue that is beautifully tightly woven together in a world of way too long crime novels. I am old enough to recall the two principal characters (one of them pretty unprincipled!), David Hardy, a (rare) black New York Daily News reporter, who was nominated for Pulitzer prizes and in the late seventies and eighties, discriminated against in myriad unsurprising ways by the then (as now) white boys’ club. He led a suit against The Daily News that came to nothing, but his name is still known. That’s one story, and a good one.
The second story is about a case that was taken from Hardy, but then fell in his lap again, and led to his being on the front page after being cast off by his profession: The corruption trial of NY Senator David Freiedland, who faked his own death and after many years, send Hardy a cassette tape telling him he was alive and fearing for his life, using multiple identities to move from country to country. Excerpts from taped conversations with the always-willing-to-tell-his-side-of-the-story Friedland by both Hardy and Donahue are fascinating.

A great project, well done, mainly a tribute to Hardy, calling attention to discrimination (horrible things were said and done to Hardy and his other colleagues of color), but Friedland is also really a fascinating and often sort of hilarious guy, one in a rich history of corrupt NY politicians. The story ends with a poem about himself that Friedland recites to Donahue. Can be used in Webster's as a model for the word chutzpah.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

After years of discrimination, David Hardy's courageous lawsuit paved the way for integrating newsrooms across America. He also was a top-notch, Pulitzer-Prize-nominated reporter. One of his most mysterious sources – David Friedland, a chess-playing, shark-baiting, lawyer, conman and government witness – faked his own death to become one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives. Greg Donahue brings together these two incredible tales and the men's unlikely friendship in an exciting and thought-provoking Audible Original, "Hardy/Friedland."

[AttackGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story. But certain comments like “No need for a bathing suit.. hmm really!

I completely understand about lawsuits that it is NOT the Money its “the principle” which is why my law professor said I am the kind of person that will go broke and keep attorneys in business but tie up the legal system.

It’s a quick read but law and order soap opera.

[Rosalind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting listen.

[Ami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. Some of the original recordings were difficult to understand due to deterioration or just poor recording, but it was a fascinating story.

[Selena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating and shameful that racism is still so prevalent

[Noreen Thompson-Resendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knowing David Friedland personally, it was tear-jerking to hear his voice on the recordings since his recent passing.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idealist in me found myself identifying with Hardy and even Friedman. It reminds me of how hard it is to “fight the good fight.” That can be sorrowful. Nevertheless, what would the majority of us do without those who do fight for what is right and true? The naivety in me sometimes got lost in the machinations of government and power.

In some ways I wished this were in written form because I found it difficult to distinguish some of the excerpts of tapes that were played.