Introduction

"Philip's Code: No News is Good News - to a Killer" is the title of a book based on my 40 years in news reporting, a career split between United Press International and The Associated Press. It's a non-fiction novel, a description that beats me. I hoped to publish the book as a memoir but was told by an agent - who hadn't read the manuscript - that I was not famous enough. "You have to have a big name in journalism for people to be interested," he said. "Someone like Dan Rather." His remark was made before Rather retired under a cloud.