KILL THE MESSENGER: One Man's Fight Against Bigotry and Greed

by Ken H. Fortenberry

A newspaper editor tells of his experiences when he moved his family to a small town in South Carolina, and ended up taking on local officials over the corruption in local government

Genres: Journalism

178 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1989

About the author

Author-investigative journalist Ken H. Fortenberry has earned more than 200 state, regional and national awards for journalism excellence including the National Sigma Delta Chi Bronze Medallion in Public Service and the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award for a series he directed that led to changes in teacher hiring laws in more than 30 states.

Both the Georgia and the South Carolina Press Associations have awarded him their prestigious Freedom of Information awards for his courageous investigative reporting.

He gained national recognition in 1987 when his house was rocked by two explosions because of stories he published in the McCormick (S.C.) Messenger. His coverage of corruption in local law enforcement led to a federal prison term for the sheriff, the bribery conviction of the sheriff’s replacement, the exposure of the chief deputy as an ex-convict, and changes in state law enforcement certification.

He was featured on the CBS News program 60 Minutes, the NBC Today show, and his story was reported by United Press International (UPI), the Associated Press and in dozens of publications including Newsweek and The New York Times.

A former member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Alabama’s College of Communications, he is a past chairman of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association Editorial Committee and a former member of the Board of Publications at the University of Southern Mississippi. Ken is an alumni of Leadership Florida.

He was the first president and founder of the Denver (NC) Area Business Association and was named Denver’s Citizen of the Year in 2003.

Ken grew up in Florida, California, South Carolina and in Bad Tolz, a small town in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, but he left his heart in San Francisco.

A Vietnam-era U.S. Army veteran, he began his writing career in North Carolina where he met his future wife, the former Anna Jonas, and they were married in 1975.

Ken has edited, published or owned newspapers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.

His hobbies include trout fishing, camping, traveling, genealogy and historical research.

Ken and Anna live in the North Carolina mountains and have five grown children and eight grandchildren.

He is is currently working on his next book – The Field on Hanging Tree Road – a riveting coming-of-age novel set during Vietnam and the Civil Rights era in the South. This is a story of love, hate, politics, murder and mystery. Look for it in 2021.

Ken is a member of the Pan Am Historical Foundation, the Nonfiction Authors Association and The Authors Guild.

Reviews

[Gloko48 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Messenger is the weekly newspaper in our town of McCormick. In 1985 the author bought the paper and this is his story of his fight against bigotry and greed. CBS 60 minutes did a piece on this and the locals are still up in arms over the author's success in getting the sheriff of the county put in prison for embezzlement.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

McCormick is my current hometown and this book is a past account of events that occurred there in the 80's. I was living in Germany during the time the book was written and not aware of the goings on in the south at that time. This is my second reading as the book is the "Read & Feed" book club selection for Oct.

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iam from Greenwood S.C not to far from McCormick and I had no Idea this was going on.Now I was only a young teen back then but it was neat to read something so close from home.My Husband's father owned a business around that time in McCormick but since has passed.I would have loved to talked to him about this, he new everyone in McCormick so iam sure he knew things also.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

My family moved to McCormick without knowing its history. They discovered this book after they moved there. While this book takes place in the 80s, the small town vibe is still current to this day. The town has morphed a lot since the setting of this book, and I don’t think the town would have changed unless it was for the actions that took place in this book. This was incredibly suspenseful, and I even gasped out loud a couple of times. For fans of thrillers, this sure reads like one.

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

I moved into the area. Neighbors suggested reading the book. It was suspenseful and hard to put down. Finished it the same day. It’s an amazing true story. The sheriff today is honest and trustworthy. Some of the locals in town still think it’s 1985!

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes place near where we moved to. I don’t doubt a word of it.

[Glenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I know live in McCormick so I found this book of particular interest.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

"For many white people in McCormick, the Civil War still rages. Yankees remain the enemy and "Dixie" will forever be the national anthem. Abraham Lincoln never was THEIR president and everybody knows that Martin Luther King, Jr., was a communist agitator. J. Edgar Hoover said so, and taht's good enough for most folks."

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shocking, cannot believe I live here!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

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