Mark Bowden, Author of "Life Sentence: The Brief And Tragic Career Of Baltimore's Deadliest Gang Leader," In Conversation with Bill Marimow

I look forward to reading Mark Bowden’s newest book, Life Sentence: The Brief and Tragic Career of Baltimore's Deadliest Gang Leader, and interviewing him for my On Crime column in the Washington Times. 

I’ve interviewed him several times in the past about his previous books.

I just watched a video of Mark Bowden, a former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter and editor, being interviewed by former Philadelphia Inquirer editor Bill Marimow at the Philadelphia Free Library.

The event took place on April 11^th. The discussion was not only about his book, but also about reporters, journalism, crime, the history of Baltimore and Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. (I was a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer for 19 years before moving over to the Washington Times). 

It was a most interesting discussion.  

Below is the Philadelphia Free Library’s description of the two speakers:    

Renowned for his “signature blend of deep reportage and character-driven storytelling (The New York Times Book Review),” Mark Bowden is a former national correspondent for The Atlantic and a former longtime reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is the author of 16 bestselling books of investigative journalism, including Black Hawk Down, adapted by Ridley Scott into a popular film; Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam; Hue 1968, the story of the Vietnam War’s bloodiest battle as told by U.S. and Vietnamese soldiers; and The Steal, an account of former President Donald Trump and his allies’ attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election that he co-authored with Matthew Teague. In Life Sentence, Bowden writes about the inner workings of one of Baltimore’s deadliest gangs and details the painstaking FBI investigation that brought it down.

As a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Bill Marimow twice won the Pulitzer Prize for public service. The editor in chief of the Inquirer from 2006 to 2017 and formerly its vice president of strategic development, he also served as vice president of news at National Public Radio and editor in chief of The Baltimore Sun. His other honors include two Silver Gavel Awards from the American Bar Association and two Robert F. Kennedy awards.

You can watch the discussion via the below link:

Mark Bowden | Life Sentence: The Brief and Tragic Career of Baltimore’s Deadliest Gang Leader - YouTube 

Byko's Star Witness In Philadelphia Inquirer's Defamation Case -- Former Inquirer Editor Bill Marimow

Ralph Cipriano at BigTrial.net offers a post on former Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Stu Bykofsky’s dust up at his retirement party. 

On the afternoon of July 17, 2019, former Inquirer Editor and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bill Marimow was reading an email from his daughter, Ann. 

"Everyone is asking about the Inga Saffron goodbye speech story that's going viral among reporters -- and noting that Dad is featured in the photos," she wrote. "You'll have to fill me in when we talk next." 

But Marimow could not wait to give his take on the fireworks that transpired when Saffron, the Inquirer's Pulitzer Prize winning architecture critic, trashed former Daily News and Inquirer columnist Stu Bykofsky at his going-away party as a sexist, ethically challenged print dinosaur with "a taste for child prostitutes in Thailand."  

"Dear Annie," Marimow wrote on the same day that an incendiary story and four video clips from the party were posted on phillymag.com. "Inga assailed Stu in a totally inappropriate way in front of virtually the entire newsroom. It was incredibly tense and at one point, I was concerned that Stu was going to physically accost her."  

"David Preston, who organized the farewell party, invited Inga to speak because he thought that the tension between them was friendly and fake animosity. It turned out to be intense dislike, and David Preston -- along with everyone else present -- was chagrined." 

A day later, Philadelphia PR guru Larry Ceisler emailed Marimow to talk about those videos.  

"I saw you in the background of the picture in Philadelphia magazine from the Byko going away party," Ceisler wrote. "Wow, that was really rude of Inga . . . I don't know why anyone would have her speak at a going away party . . . or even a funeral for that matter. Really poor form." 

Marimow agreed. "Inga's diatribe was an unmitigated disaster," he wrote. "Vindictive, mean-spirited and shocking. Unbelievable." 

Saffron's remarks made at Bykofsky's July 12, 2019 going-away party prompted the retiring reporter of 47 years to file a lawsuit against the Inquirer and Saffron alleging defamation. 

It's a lawsuit that's not going away. On Dec. 14, 2020, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge James Crumlish III ruled against the Inquirer's motion to have Bykofsky's complaint dismissed.  

The case is now in the discovery stage. But from the looks of what transpired in after-party emails among the Inquirer's top management, it might be a smart move to settle the case before it ever goes to trial.  

,,, On July 21, 2019, another old pal of Marimow's, former Penn State Journalism Professor Tony Barbieri, wrote to ask if the Byko party was "a normal Inquirer sendoff." If so, Barbieri quipped, he was planning to invite David Simon to speak at Marimow's going-away party.  

For years, Simon,  a former Baltimore Sun reporter who hit it big as the creator of the HBO series "The Wire," has waged a war of words against Marimow, his former editor at the Baltimore Sun. 

"Inga's comments were disgraceful -- a blatant disregard for all standards of civility," Marimow wrote back to Babieri. About Barbieri's suggestion for guest speakers at Marimow's going-away party, Marimow wrote,"There's no doubt that Simon would do it." 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

Byko's Star Witness In Inky Defamation Case --Bill Marimow | Big Trial | Philadelphia Trial Blog 

Looking For A Good Book?

Received an Amazon gift card or some other gift card for Christmas? Looking for a good book to purchase?

Well, you can search here for my book reviews and posts on a good number of books.

Or, the Philadelphia Inquirer - where I've been a contributor since 1999 - offers their staff's choice of a good book to read this Christmas season. 

Avid readers are always happy to tell you about the good things they've been reading, and we at The Inquirer are no different. Here's a roundup of the best new books that Inquirer staff members have read this year. Enjoy!
 

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal, by Ben Macintyre (Crown, $27). A Spy Among Friends is a spellbinding tale of the personal relationship between Nicholas Elliott, a leader of MI6, and his close friend, Kim Philby, the British spymaster who became a Soviet mole. McIntyre's meticulous research helps the reader understand how Elliott, trained to be skeptical and circumspect, could fail to detect the ever-more-obvious signs of Philby's disloyalty. Reads like a John LeCarré spy novel. - Bill Marimow, editor
 

 

Bagmen, by William Lashner (Thomas & Mercer, $14.95 paperback). If they gave a Pulitzer Prize for snappy dialogue, William Lashner would be a betting favorite every time. Bagmen is a murder mystery set in the altogether too convincingly rendered demimonde of Philly's bagmen, the political fixers. - Michael D. Schaffer.

 

You can read the rest of the staff picks via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/literature/20141221_Looking_for_a_good_book_.html

Note: Today is the last day on the job for my Inquirer editor, Michael D. Schaffer. I wish him well in his retirement.