Steven Vogel is a longtime journalist who’s known for his book Reasonable Doubt, which shares his experience of covering a 1983 murder case in Illinois. His memoir, Broadcast Live, was a quarterfinalist for the BookLife prize in 2024. PW talked to Vogel about his genre-crossing career.

What inspired you to write a memoir? And what did you learn along the way?

Most memoirs I’ve read are heartening but often begin as a hot mess. Then I read James Patterson’s James Patterson and realized that a batch of good stories can make a great memoir. My career—farm boy to broadcaster to Fortune 25 communicator to newspaper columnist—has placed me in interesting places in transformative times. In short, I have some pretty absorbing stories to tell, and people seem to connect with them.

From your perspective, how has the journalism landscape changed over the past few decades? What do you miss the most about the way things used to be?

It was far from perfect, but, in many ways, I think our country—at least our democracy—was better served when there were fewer channels. Most of us watched Walter Cronkite or Peter Jennings or Tom Brokaw, and we at least agreed on the facts. Now we lack that shared view and understanding—a kind of informational mortar that held us together. We’re splintered into a country of tribes that seek input that confirms our opinions. That’s unhealthy. I also believe we were much better off when major media outlets were not owned by corporate conglomerates.

How did you decide which moments in your life to include in your memoir?

My objective was to deliver a cultural narrative that’s, first of all, entertaining, but also insightful. A lot of the stories are framed in historical context. Some are “celebrity-adjacent.” Some are deeply personal. A couple are flat-out embarrassing. But, bottom line, I’ve always been a storyteller, and I’ve enjoyed writing this book. I think that shows through.

You have experience with traditional publishing and self-publishing. What is your impression of both processes? And do you prefer one more than the other?

The world has changed—for publishing and for people like me. I had a big-time agent at the start who got me a big-time advance followed by a paperback deal with a publisher that had a great distribution system. Even so, I had a young family to support with a “real-world” job that soaked up my creative energy. No new books were forthcoming.

When a national TV show interviewed me for an hourlong documentary on the subject of that first book, I—now agentless because he had died and I wasn’t producing—approached the publisher to see if it was interested in an updated edition. It was a no-go. So I self-published it as a trade paperback and e-book, and then got a commercial contract for an audiobook—all of it happening at about the time the TV show debuted. It sold quite well and still finds new readers whenever the TV show is rerun.

Since then, I’ve self-published a second true crime book and now this memoir. There was one small press that was interested in doing my memoir, but it was going to be two years before I held the book in my hands. I’m not getting any younger.

Which way do I prefer? I’d love to have the broad distribution and marketing clout a major publisher can offer. But I also like the quick turnaround and control linked to self-publishing.

What more can you share concerning writing about true crime?

It can be deeply affecting. Both of the criminal cases I’ve written about involved the deaths of multiple young children. I think of them often. From a practical, journalistic point of view, lengthy trials give you time to build a relationship with the people involved. That can lead to insights that add depth to your reporting and sometimes send you down surprising paths.

Do you have any other writing plans for the future?

Broadcast Live is in hardcover and e-book. I have a commercial contract for an audiobook that I may narrate. Depending on interest, I may also self-publish it as a trade paperback, maybe with some additional stories, perhaps some illustrations—unless a traditional publisher has a better plan! Beyond that, there’s a historical figure in our family’s past who deserves to be written about. We’ll see if I’m up for it.

Haley Saffren is a freelance writer and publishing professional.