Joe Eszterhas - Journalist

Journalist

Eszterhas was a newspaper reporter for The Plain Dealer, in Cleveland, where he gained access to color photos of Vietnam's My Lai Massacre, which depicted American soldiers murdering Vietnamese civilians. Although he was annoyed at his newspaper’s apparent lack of belief in the authenticity of the photos, the paper permitted Eszterhas to try to sell them for $125,000. Some media outlets, however, used the photos without permission, causing the photos to decline in value. He ended up receiving $20,000 from Life magazine.

At the end of Eszterhas' career at The Plain Dealer, a fellow editor singlehandedly sailed a small sail boat from the United States to England and The Plain Dealer did not sponsor the editor's trip. However, as the gentleman neared the culmination of his trip, the Plain Dealer chartered an airplane to fly low and drop "Cleveland Plain Dealer" sweat shirts to the editor. According to the account Eszterhas wrote, the editor retrieved the sweat shirts and when he saw what they were, tossed them overboard. Eszterhas was subsequently relieved of his duties at the newspaper.

Eszterhas was a senior editor from 1971 to 1975 for Rolling Stone. He became a National Book Award nominee for his nonfiction work Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse in 1974.

Cantrell v. Forest City Publishing (1974) is one of only two false light cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and involved Eszterhas. As a reporter for The Plain Dealer, he covered the aftermath of the collapse of a bridge across the Ohio River, which included a supposed interview of the widow of one of the fatal victims of the collapse. Months after the accident, he and a photographer visited the home of Margaret Cantrell. She was not home, but he talked to the children as the photographer took photos. His Sunday magazine feature focused on the family's poverty and contained several inaccuracies. Eszterhas made it seem as though he spoke to her, describing her mood and attitude in the story. Cantrell filed suit for invasion of privacy, and won a $60,000 judgment in her favor. The decision was overturned in the Court of Appeals on first amendment grounds, but in the end, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the original judgment in her favor.