Slanted: Exposing the Deep State Corruption of American Journalism

As a journalist with lengthy experience investigating political corruption and criminal networks, Pulitzer Prize-winner Dan Luzadder’s greatest skill is getting “inside” controversial and secretive organizations. In The Slant, Luzadder investigates networks of secret influence and raises questions about the credibility of the media and on the role of the corruption of journalism as a watchdog of democracy. The Slant focuses primarily on influential journalist Lawrence Wright, a Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, and authority on Al Qaeda, whose profile grew to include an influential, and controversial, book on the Church of Scientology. In an attempt to make sense of Wright’s Scientology investigation, Luzadder took a position as an independent contributing editor with the Church’s investigative journal, Freedom magazine, and was given inside access to members, clergy, and executive leadership. His subsequent inquiries into alleged bias in the media’s coverage of Scientology, and Wright’s own coverage, led Luzadder to uncover much larger concerns—going to the heart of journalistic integrity. Luzadder’s investigation discovers a propaganda network created by the CIA and powerful private allies, dating from its Cold War origins to the Age of Terror. Luzadder believes these organizations groomed journalists, publishers, editors, and others in the American media, who promoted Cold War political ideologies and agendas. Wright’s close personal ties to these CIA-connected organizations, that he’s never disclosed, raises troubling issues over hidden influences within a free press. These revelations shed a different light not only on Lawrence Wright’s journalistic accomplishments and his role as an “independent” journalist, but on the independence of the publishing and media industries themselves. Wright’s documented associations reveal yet another shadowy chapter in the elite liberal media’s murky relationship with a so-called “deep state.” This is an explosive detective story that identifies by name individuals, organizations, and institutions that influence the US media and shape what the American public believes within the nation and around the world. The unknown relationships journalists share with domestic CIA media influencers raises ominous questions not only about their careers and their honesty, but how the American media facilitated their rise to prominence. Will we ever know the truth about the media’s coverage of the Church of Scientology, of the Cold War, or of the War on Terror? Is unbiased, independent journalism—in no one’s pocket—yet another American myth? If the nation’s journalism is to rise above its own corrupted and mythologized past, to become democracy’s true Fourth Estate, its revival depends on acknowledging its true history, and severing relationships with hidden influences.

About the Author :
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dan Luzadder, nationally recognized for investigative journalism, has written for The New York Times, New York Daily News, and other major newspapers and magazines. Over a forty-year career, he distinguished himself through deep dives into human rights issues, international drug trafficking, corruption, organized crime, cold case murders, political crime, and the Columbine High School massacre. Luzadder shared a Pulitzer Prize for General Local Reporting in 1983. His contributions--columns written on deadline from the heart of a devastating flood--were collected in college journalism textbooks, including The Best of Pulitzer Prize Newswriting. He shared an American Bar Association award for public service for investigation into corruption in the federal bankruptcy courts, is a member of the Scripps Howard Journalism Hall of Fame, and holds numerous state and regional honors for writing and reporting. His investigation into police handling of the Columbine High School massacre was a Pulitzer nominee. Until recently, he was a paid independent Executive Editor of Freedom magazine, published by the Church of Scientology. He currently resides on the Oregon coast.