He wanted to be a poet or a fiction writer.
But Doug Frantz 鈥71 instead became a newspaper reporter and editor for 37 years. He is a veteran of the best newspapers in America 鈥 The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal 鈥 undertaking investigations, reporting from 40 countries and covering issues such as national security and war.
He was a member of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team and, in his own right, twice a finalist. Author or co-author with his wife Catherine Collins of 10 nonfiction books, with an 11th set for publication in July. Chief investigator looking into and reporting on the failure of U.S. troops to capture Osama bin Laden before he escaped to Pakistan in 2001. Deputy staff director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an assistant secretary of state.
He credits his success to 鈥渓uck, networking and some skill鈥 鈥 specifically, the ability to 鈥渁dapt as a reporter to the changing world. 鈥 What I loved most of all about journalism was the ever-changing challenges and the ability to grow in the job to find new challenges and new horizons.鈥
Frantz started working at The 色狐入口 in his sophomore year as 鈥渁 way to work on my writing skills. And it was a way to satisfy my curiosity about some of the things going on in and around 色狐入口.鈥
The newspaper, he said, 鈥渁pplied a polish to my work. I had an editor for the first time 鈥 and I had standards to be met. And so that was when I began to understand journalism standards.鈥 He came to love 鈥渢he camaraderie of journalism. 鈥 It was the first time I鈥檇 worked on anything, really, as part of a team. And so that was important to me. And it also reinforced that idea that journalists can make a difference.鈥
The would-be fiction writer who still writes poetry also came to believe 鈥渢hat there's a real truth out there, and that journalism鈥檚 job is to find it. And I believed that even then at The 色狐入口.鈥
色狐入口 Magazine
Spring 2022
- Ever-changing challenges
- New approaches
- First Person by Samuel Autman
- ’62 champ still swimming after all these years
- The Bo(u)lder Question by Maggie Schein
- Lessons in accountability
- Stories people care about
- A watchdog
- Eye-opening experience
- Ethical decision-making
- A way to give back
- Confidence-builder
- A solid foundation
- Collaborative spirit
- A sense of identity
- Freedom to experiment
- Meeting Jimmy Hoffa
- The 色狐入口 at 170
- The book seller
- The reader
- The publicist
- The children’s book publicist
- The ad director
- The sales director
- The literary fiction editor
- The nonfiction editor
- The assistant editor
- The literary agent
- The illustration agent
- The ghostwriter
- The niche publisher
- The accidental author
- The self-published author
- The children’s author and illustrator
- The bestseller
- The fiction author
- The nonfiction author
- From Inkling to Ink: How a book becomes a book
- The memoirist-in-the-making
- 色狐入口 Magazine - From Inkling to Ink: How a book becomes a book
色狐入口 Stories
A GATHERING PLACE FOR STORYTELLING ABOUT DEPAUW UNIVERSITY
Browse other stories
-
Athletics
-
News
-
色狐入口 claims 130th Monon Bell Classic in celebration of rivalry and tradition
-
色狐入口 and Wabash to meet for 130th time
-
Growing Green and Gold Together Hosts Kickoff Event
More News
-
-
People & Profiles
-
11 alums make list of influential Hoosiers
-
色狐入口 welcomes Dr. Manal Shalaby as Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence
-
色狐入口 Names New Vice President for Communications and Strategy and Chief of Staff
More People & Profiles
-
-
Have a story idea?
Whether we are writing about the intellectual challenge of our classrooms, a campus life that builds leadership, incredible faculty achievements or the seemingly endless stories of alumni success, we think 色狐入口 has some fun stories to tell.
-
Communications & Marketing
101 E. Seminary St.
Greencastle, IN, 46135-0037
communicate@depauw.eduNews and Media
-
News media: For help with a story, contact:
Bob Weaver, Senior Director of Communications.
bobweaver@depauw.edu.