Former Journalist’s Debut Novel Tackles Media Bias Head-On
In his gripping debut novel “Fake News,” veteran journalist Troy Wilson draws from over three decades of newsroom experience to craft a thought-provoking political thriller that explores the growing challenges facing modern journalism.
Wilson, who spent 35 years as a working journalist before transitioning to entrepreneurship, weaves a complex narrative that follows Tom, an honest reporter navigating an increasingly partisan media landscape. Set against the backdrop of Washington D.C.’s high-stakes political arena and the contrasting environment of Boise, Idaho, the novel examines how power and pressure can influence journalistic integrity.
“While fiction, my book is an allegory of sorts which explores the topic of bias in journalism through an honest reporter’s eyes,” Wilson explains. The story features a diverse cast of characters including a Republican minister-turned-governor presidential candidate facing headwinds from liberal media, and a controversial political comedian battling cancel culture.
What sets Wilson’s work apart is his nuanced approach to characterization. “None of my characters are villains,” he reveals. “The book follows different individuals who are doing their best to cope with often difficult circumstances.” Even in the case of a murder central to the plot, Wilson crafts a narrative that challenges readers’ preconceptions about right and wrong.
The novel’s provocative title stems from Wilson’s analysis of recent media dynamics. He suggests that “Trump Derangement Syndrome” has eroded public trust in mainstream media, arguing that fair and honest coverage is essential for journalistic credibility regardless of personal political leanings.
Wilson is already preparing to release a sequel, “Fake News, Anchorwoman’s Vengeance,” which will continue exploring themes of journalistic excellence in an environment of institutional decay. Through this upcoming work, he aims to examine why traditional journalistic values seem to hold less currency in today’s media landscape.
“Fake News, A Novel” is available now through Defiance Press and Publishing, offering readers an insider’s perspective on the challenges facing modern journalism while delivering a compelling political thriller that refuses to paint its conflicts in simple black and white.
Read Fake News: A Novel
Chapter 1
Tomas was surprised that he had landed his new job in Washington, DC in part because he had not been looking for one. The process had started as a seemingly random invitation to connect on a social media website frequented by journalists.
The invitation came from someone who had recently looked at his profile. He read the online moniker and remembered seeing it somewhere else before, but could not place it.
He attempted to click on the profile of the person who invited him. It was as blank as it could be. No name. No photo. Only the initials RMM and the vague title ‘business investor’. There was no work history and no other connections to anyone else. If this page had a purpose, then it wasn’t for the standard self-promotion and exaggerated resume building that plagued most profiles on the website.
One week later, he received a phone call on a Saturday afternoon from a Philadelphia area code. Normally Tomas let numbers he didn’t recognize go to voicemail, but he had a strange feeling that he should answer this call and so he did.
“Good morning Tom. May I call you Tom?” said a deep voice with a touch of a New England accent on the other end of the line.
“Sure. How can I help you?” Tomas answered. “I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday. I thought it would be better to talk when you were away from your TV station.”
“And why is that?” Tomas, the inquisitive reporter asked inquisitively.
“I would like to talk to you about a possible reporter job for a client of mine. Have you given any thought to possibly making a move in your career?”
The conversation went silent for a moment. Of course Tomas had thought about looking for a job in a larger city with more money and more interesting news to cover. He loved living in Boise, Idaho, but it was a small market which didn’t pay very well. At this point in his life he felt that he was ready for more.
“I guess it depends on the job, right?” Tomas responded cautiously. “Who is this anyway?”
“My name is Jerry Winston. I’m a consultant who works with some television stations nationwide and I help them recruit talent. One of my clients has an interest in interviewing you for a reporter/anchor position after seeing some of your work there in Idaho.”
The terminology Winston was using seemed a bit odd to Tomas. Most industry insiders used the term ‘anchor/reporter,’ not the other way around. It indicated to him there may be something unique about this position and he wanted to know more about it.
“Which station?” he asked.
“WWDC-3 in Washington, DC,” Winston replied.
Tomas let out a slight gasp. Instantly the pieces were starting to fall in place in his mind. “The Industry Tonight,” he blurted out.
Tomas could hear something akin to a knowing smile on the other end of the line. “Yes, Tom, The Industry Tonight.”
WWDC Channel 3 was an independent TV station in Washington, DC which had been bought by a billionaire businessman back in the 1990s. Rumor had it that it was the wife of billionaire Joseph Midas (yes, his name was Midas) who wanted him to make the purchase. Marjorie Midas had been a former business reporter for a cable network. The two met during an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. They would be married a year later, and she left her job to be with him full time when they moved to Washington, DC. She never lost her love for broadcast news and so her husband bought her a TV station right in their own backyard.
DC-3 would become known as Washington, DC’s ‘Non-stop News’ station. As an ‘independent’ station it had no network programming to fill the airtime, and so it would bet its fate instead on round-the-clock news programming. That did not make it a great ratings success. The station often finished last in most every time slot and reports in trade publications indicated the Midas family lost money on the station every year. As business analysts used to say when it came to broadcasting, the family definitely did not have the ‘Midas Touch’.
But The Industry Tonight was different. It was a political news program named for the fact that politics was Washington’s main industry in much the way the film industry was to Los Angeles. Each night the program’s focus was squarely on politics in the DC area, especially the federal government, complete with expert panels and news segments which played off the show’s title such as “Industrial Spin,” “Industrial Power” and one often humorous fan favorite called “Industrial Waste.” The news set for The Industry Tonight even included virtual backgrounds which combined industrial images like steel being melted with political ones such as scenes from inside Congress and the White House.
The audience for The Industry Tonight was not large but it was influential. Presidents current and past reportedly all either tuned in from time to time or devoured its news content on the web. Members of Congress did too. But the brilliance of The Industry Tonight was that it covered DC in a way that was both broad-based and unique. Segments could range from changes to federal land policy to tax subsidies for bizarre museums nationwide.
Viewers tuned in because they learned something every night about the government for which they worked or served or lobbied or had to live with. It made DC-3 a haven for political news tipsters and the station often broke stories about the government as a result. It also made the program nationally renowned, especially in TV news circles.
Owner Marjorie Midas was known to be a politically liberal socialite and philanthropist who gave money generously to left-leaning causes. She was also respected as a fierce advocate that her station’s news department maintain its objectivity even as other news channels and networks became more hyper-partisan. Many journalists considered the station a great place to land. Job openings were regularly met with thousands of applications.
Tomas Stein hadn’t ever thought of applying there. Why would they hire him? The social media hit he had received two weeks earlier now popped back into his mind.
“RMM,” he told Winston.
“Excuse me?” “RMM. I was being checked out on a social media page by an RMM.”
“That’s actually Marjorie Midas. RMM stands for the Real Marjorie Midas. She uses the social network page as part of her research. She fashions herself as having an eye for talent. She told me that your work on ‘Fast Cash in the Foothills’ had caught her attention.”
‘Fast Cash in the Foothills’ was an ongoing story about urban development that somehow had morphed into a political scandal and then a sex scandal. It had begun with a tip to Tomas from a City of Boise employee who had flagged some suspicious emails between two city council members. The more Tomas looked into it, the bigger the story seemed to get.
For decades conservationists had worked hard to protect the foothills overlooking Boise from what they saw as over-development. The foothills were a popular recreational area and also were home to many native animal and plant species. The sight of homes stacked on top of each other on the mountainside that made up Boise’s backdrop was not just environmentally harmful but just plain ugly to them. Limiting development would help keep the city looking beautiful while preserving important environmental areas.
Some politicians who were friendly with developers disagreed. As the city grew Boise was getting hemmed in. Other surrounding communities were allowing foothills development so why not Boise too? This was especially true as people from cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle moved to Boise with bank accounts flush with cash from homes they had just sold. Houses in Boise would cost them a fraction of what they sold their houses for in California, Arizona, Washington and Oregon. Many craved a beautiful view in the foothills high over what was called the Treasure Valley and they had the money to buy it if they could find it.
Tomas discovered that one developer had found a work-around to the city’s restrictive foothills development ordinances. He then reached out to two particular city council members to help him exploit it. Both of them agreed to help him knowing full well the developer would fill their campaign coffers with lots of cash. It was well known that one of the council members had her eye on statewide office next election. Befriending a wealthy campaign contributor would only help her in that effort.
The more Tomas dug for information the stranger the story got. It turned out the other city council member involved had been questioned by police in front of the female council member’s house after they spotted him hiding in a rental car there. There were rumors the two, who were both married, were having an extramarital affair.
As Tomas aired more reports, more tips came in that the developer had also paid off other city officials to keep his applications for permits and other foothills dealings quiet and away from other city council members and the mayor. By the time of Winston’s call there was a full-fledged state and federal investigation underway all because of a series of news reports Tomas had begun airing months earlier. And it just kept going. More reports led to more tips, which led to more reports, which led to even more tips. It was a virtuous news cycle that even got the attention of a socialite TV station owner in Washington, DC.
“I’m interested,” Tomas blurted out to Winston without really knowing much about the job itself.
Winston thought it would be wise to fill in some of the blanks first. “You know the newscast. It’s mostly reporting. There would be some anchoring as well. The money is good but you should also know that living in DC is expensive. I will tell you Tom that lots of people want this job. You are one of the few where this job wants you.”
“I’m interested,” Tomas repeated. Things happened fast from there. In four weeks’ time he would be starting as a news correspondent working on the news program The Industry Tonight. At just twenty-eight years of age he would be doing something other far more experienced reporters could only dream about.
And right away he would break a big story in Washington, DC with an odd Boise connection.
