While podcasts and narrative television series may make our national ripped-from-the-headlines habit feel like a modern condition, its origins span back to the cutthroat newspaper business at the start of the 20th century. In this exclusive excerpt from his upcoming book, Blood & Ink, Vanity Fair’s Joe Pompeo sheds light on one of the tabloid wars’ boldest characters, editor Philip Alan Payne, a pioneer in the art of manufacturing a story.
