Kent State University
Monday, May 4, 1970.
12:24 p.m.
Four shot dead, nine wounded
“Bob Giles forged his status as one of the legendary newspaper editors in modern American history on May 4, 1970 with his steady stewardship of the Akron-Beacon Journal the day of the Kent State shootings. This never-before-told account will take you inside the turmoil and drama of the newsroom, the campus of Kent State and the city of Akron. At a time when journalists are under attack from the very highest levels of government, this book is a reminder of why journalism—especially local journalism—is one of the last great guarantors of our democracy.”
It’s just past noon at Kent State University in Ohio. An anti-Vietnam War rally is underway, part of a wave of peaceful demonstrations on the nation’s college campuses.
But not so peaceful on this day … at this minute.
National Guardsmen turn and fire more than 60 bullets at demonstrators. In just 13 seconds, four students are killed. Nine are wounded.
The deadly confrontation, heard ‘round the world, changes our country forever.
When Truth Mattered is the compelling story of how a local newspaper, the Akron Beacon Journal, reported the shootings and the aftermath, creating a truthful narrative that has endured, unchanged and unchallenged, for 50 years.
Author Robert Giles, the managing editor who directed the newspaper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage, gives an unforgettable, first-person account of what took place on the Kent State campus and in his newsroom during that fateful time.
Just as important, Giles links the meaning of the Beacon Journal’s truth-telling with crucial lessons for all of us today—how to tell what’s real in the news … and what is not. It’s a welcome antidote in this poisonous era of alleged “fake news.”
Available now in print, as an ebook, and as an audiobook.
Personal purchases:
The book is available through your favorite bookstore and also on Amazon.com.
Bulk sales:
The book can be ordered by bookstores and other retail outlets through Ingram or through Mission Point Press Distribution. For questions, please contact Mission Point Press at 231-421-9513 or by email at doug.missionpointpress@gmail.com. Or visit www.MPPDistribution.com.
Event and presentation information:
Robert Giles is available for book signings and to discuss the history of the Kent State shootings and journalism’s role in news-gathering today.
To contact Giles, email him at: whentruthmattered@gmail.com
Hardcover and softcover, 6 x 9 inches
340 pages
Retail price hardcover $21.95, softcover $16.95
ISBN hardcover: 978-1-950659-39-5
ISBN softcover: 978-1-950659-42-5
Includes dozens of archival photographs