On the Record: An Insider's Guide to Journalism

by Tom Wicker

Award winning New York Times reporter Tom Wicker draws on his own experiences to fashion a compelling narrative that shows students how real reporters make tough ethical decisions. Avoiding rigid “do and don’t” lists, On the Record teaches the underlying principles and practices of good journalism, and offers readers a unique and practical approach to negotiating the challenges reporters face every day.

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2001

About the author

Also wrote under the pseudonym Paul Connolly.

Thomas Grey Wicker’s respected talent as a journalist took him from his origins in Hamlet, North Carolina, to The New York Times. There he served as associate editor, former Washington bureau chief, as well as the author of the famous op-ed column “In the Nation” for thirty years. He was the author of a considerable number of acclaimed fiction and non-fiction books as well. Wicker earned his journalism degree from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill in 1948, and at first wrote for papers in Aberdeen and Lumberton. He wrote for the Winston-Salem Journal for eight years and The Nashville Tennessean for two years before heading up to the Times, where he eventually retired in 1991. Wicker’s famous report on the assassination of President Kennedy, written from the perspective of the motorcade following the president, has been praised as the most accurate firsthand account of the shooting.