From Byline to Plotline: Bill Alpert’s Search for Fictional Freedom

What happens when a hard-nosed investigative journalist tries to cross the boundary into fiction—but keeps getting pulled back by the gravity of facts? In this episode, NoNaMe Storyteller welcomes Bill Alpert, longtime Dow Jones reporter and master of financial sleuthing, as he joins Aki and guest co-host Alice to explore the hilarious, humbling, and surprisingly existential question: Why can’t Bill write fiction?

Bill shares his unlikely journey from wanting to be an English major at Yale (spoiler: he wasn’t) to becoming an American Studies grad focused on democracies, his early days at local New York papers, and his eventual rise to Barron’s, where his reporting on stock fraud, money laundering, and corporate swindlers has led to real-world lawsuits—and even inspired characters in novels by others.

Along the way, we dive into the friction (and joy) of working with editors, the blessing of deadlines, and why Bill still feels a creative itch that journalism can’t quite scratch. We unpack the seductive legacy of New Journalism, the creative tension between truth and narrative, and Bill’s thoughts on what kind of novel he would write—if he could ever let go of the facts.

Featuring nods to: Jon Alpert & Keiko Tsuno (HBO documentarians), Shakespeare, Melville, Ralph EllisonTruman Capote, Tom Wolfe, John Sandford’s Prey series, Steven Pinker’s writing wisdom

Plus: A few tales of being sued, some self-deprecating humor, and a spirited defense of why investigative journalism isn’t just a job—it’s a calling.

Enigma by Kevin MacLeod is licensedunder a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100241

Artist: http://incompetech.com/