The Power of Details

By Dick Weiss
May 20, 2009

Powerful personalities dominate our business culture and their stories make for compelling reading. Here are three examples from the Voice of San Diego, The Denver Post and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The common thread in all three: an emphasis on details, details, details.

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3 The fall of Denny Hecker
Dee DePass of the Minneapolis Star Tribune
DePass digs into the troubles of a flamboyant Minnesota car dealer Denny Hecker whose empire built over decades has crumbled in a matter of months. Hecker wouldn’t talk much, but the observations of others who view him with a mixture of fear, envy and respect are illuminating.

2 People’s trust broken with Merriman scandal
Steve Raabe and Greg Griffin of The Denver Post
Raabe and Griffin unravel the Ponzi scheme of money manager Shawn R. Merriman whose persuasive powers worked through his friendly, low-key approach. Note how the reporters were able to reconstruct conversations Merriman had with his investors to illustrate how he was able to overcome their initial doubts.

1A post-boom real estate scam
Kelly Bennett and Will Carless of the Voice of San Diego
Bennett and Carless spent three months investigating a real estate scam. The reporting provides a lesson in how greed can overtake good judgment. Here the focus is not just on the swindler and his swindle, but on the people who were taken in. It provides an interesting shift in point of view.

Copyright © 2009 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism