Vpr Commentary Series

I've been reading Robert Caro's latest book, Working , detailing how he researched and wrote his magisterial, vividly detailed biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson. Caro began his career as a newspaper reporter. Though his books are historical biographies, his methods are investigative journalism at its very best: deep research into important, often obscure documents, interviewing people who know - both the powerful and the powerless - anyone who can show readers what is actually going on. And finally, clear writing that opens readers'eyes. It's interesting to note that Caro says while there's no such thing as truth, there are facts. It's the nonfiction writer's job to find the relevant facts and present them directly and vividly. And it's the honest presentation of facts that is the first and most important task of the journalist. I've been a Vermont journalist for something like 50 years now and last fall, I joined several other colleagues - who consider journalism an