Three Things I have Learned from Edna Buchanan

Who; Edna Buchanan
What: Edna's book "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face"
Where: Miami, Florida
When: Copyright 1987
Why: Edna's book covers real stories while working police beat. Motivational book for journalists.

Would you like some great insight on what it takes to be a hard core news reporter working the police beat? Edna Buchanan's memoir "The Corpse Had A Familiar Face" is a book about a news reporter telling her true stories while working the police beat in Miami, Florida for The Miami Herald. Reading Edna's book has given me an idea of not only what it takes to be a woman reporter, but that stories in newspapers can save lives and even change the law.

Three valuable lessons I have learned from reading Edna's memoir is, one, that a reporter must be persistent and not let discouragement loose track of his or her focus. Two, the press can change the law and solve, or expose, a lot of crimes better than most cops from their stories. And three, everyone is human and has a story to tell.

Being persistant about stories means talking to everyone, turning over every rock for clues, and not taking "NO" for an answer the first four times. For a woman reporter one may have to be a little more confidant and persistant. A couple quotes from Edna's book, "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face", I would like to bring up are as follows:

"Police reporters deal with lives, reputations, and careers. So you keep on-- ask one more question, knock on one more door, make one last call and then another. It could be the one that counts."

"A woman in my occupation has to convince the cops that she is not a woman. You want them to think of you as a confdante, a proffessional who will always be fair, or if nothing else, a piece of furniture, someone they are so used to seeing that they forget you are there. And you don't mix business with pleasure."

With everyone's reputation at stake, as well as your own, a reporter should always be on top of their stories and not let authorities shoo them away like a fly. Be a fly on the wall that won't leave. It is the freedom of the press after all.

Being that fly on the wall gives the press the ability to change the law and at times solve crimes
and find missing people better than some police work can. Quotes in stories can put people in jail that may have walked if not for the press. Families with unsolved cases of missing, or murdered kids, end up finding some sort of closure from reporter's investigative work.


Gender does matter to a certain point. Most men in the newspaper business take home higher salaries than women, so as a woman I would suggest working harder than the men and being more efficient like Edna Buchanan is.


A few examples from Edna's book include:


"That issue was later covered in depth by the Herald, and subsequently, new legislation required background checks and liscensing for all guards."

Another way the Press can keep our government in tact, wouldn't you think?

A story of how Edna put someone behind bars:

"We get a lot of subpoenas. Herald lawyers usually have them quashed. It is not good policy for reporters to testify. But this time was different; this guy may actually walk. All I would swear to was the accuracy of what I wrote."....."I testified that I was wearing press identification carrying a reporters notebook, and had identified myself to him as a reporter. He did not think I was a cop. So, although his formal confession to police was ruled out--his comment to me was not."


The following quote from the book bothers me. I wonder what would have happened to this girl if it wasn't for Edna's reporting heart? Would the family have ever found the suspect?


"Albert Brust had kidnapped a runaway couple. He killed and decapitated the boy, put the corpse in the bathtub and covered it with cement. He raped and tortured the girl for days, then took her to Fort Lauderdale and set her free. She went straight to the police. They did not believe her outlandish story and sent her back home to Indiana. She was fifteen."


Reading parts like this in her book make me sit and wonder who is actually cleaning up the streets in our communities? The police, or the press? The press exposes dirty cops and then make them do their job at times. Has Miami cleaned up so much since the 70's because of reporters like Edna Buchanan? I would say so.


The third important thing I have learned from Edna's book is that everyone is human, and everyone has a story even if they say they are a "nobody". The quote I will use from Edna's book to portray an example is this;


"During my second year at the Herald I covered criminal court, another beat where a reporter can mine for gold. You meet the cops, the crooks, the judges, the bondsmen and the lawyers: the good guys, the bad guys, and the majority of who are a mix of both. You see more honest-to-God drama, intrigue, and acting in a criminal courtroom than you will ever find on any stage. Award winning performances: so many stories, so little time."


I hope this blog of mine has given some insight for those who are considering covering the police beat. I suggest reading Edna Buchanan's memoir, "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face". It is not all about murder and seeing if you have a strong stomach. It is about how you can change laws, save lives, and solve mysteries by being a reporter and using the lovely Freedom of the Press standards. The modern super hero. It is encouraging to read about a woman who successfully does not take "NO" for an answer....ever.