A classic tale of corporate media suppressing journalists who don't toe the line? It began with a suicide in lobby of the Miami Herald building. Former city commissioner, Art Teele, shot himself after speaking with reporter Jim Defede. Defede, who had built a reputation for exposing the misdeeds of Miami's powerbrokers, was the last person to speak with Teele before his death. Defede tape recorded the conversation. Defede, on his own initiative, told his bosses at the Herald that he had a tape of the commissioner's last words. In Florida, taping someone without their permission is against the law - a misdemeanor. Defede was fired within minutes. The real question - why was the decision to fire him made in such a rush? Many of Defede's colleagues have stated publicly that the suicide and taping was a pretext to get rid of a good journalist - a real muckraker.
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