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Cheyna Roth is a former prosecutor, a reporter for MLive.com, mom of an infant daughter and … a chronicler of notorious murderers. Wait. What? Stick with me – it’s not as odd or macabre as it sounds. One thing I like to do with this forum is introduce you to the diverse, interesting group of employees on the journalism team at MLive Media Group. Roth, who did a short stint in the Ionia County Prosecutor’s Office and now has published a true-crime book, certainly qualifies. “I realized early in my legal career that it was not the right fit for me,” said Roth, who earned an English undergraduate degree at Aquinas College before getting a law degree at Michigan State University. An attorney, she notes, is supposed to pursue one side of a case: “I often saw myself seeing both sides. I got kind of tired of that.” On her commute to work she would listen to public radio, and began to relate to the reporting and storytelling she heard. Even though she has a major in English and a minor in writing, up until then journalism hadn’t struck her as a career choice. “It seemed to me to be one of those things that cool people get to do,” she said. Roth went back to MSU to pursue a master’s in journalism, and landed an internship at Michigan Public Radio while she studied.
She began her journalism career as the Larry Nassar case sex abuse unfolded and the 2016 election turned Michigan into a battleground state. She was hired full-time by Michigan Public Radio, covering politics and the state government.
But, wait. What about that book, and those murderers? Well, Roth just published her first book, called “Cold Cases: Unidentified Serial Killers, Unsolved Kidnappings, and Mysterious Murders.”
She said it came about in part through chance, and in part due to personal interest: “Crime has always been my writing topic of choice,” she said. The serendipity part was that she was in a Facebook group devoted to writing when a publishing company solicited an author for a “true crime” book. She applied, but was told the publisher had found someone else. Later, while on vacation overseas, the publisher contacted her, offering the project. The goal was to take a modern approach to famous cases, like the Black Dahlia, a gruesome 1947 Los Angeles murder that made its victim, Elizabeth Short, what Roth dubs the “Patron Saint of Mutilated Women.” Because the cases are so well-known, she decided to take a new tack. “I wrote it as if I was talking to a friend,” Roth said. “I wanted new ideas, new ways to look at it, not factual explorations.” Each chapter has an “over-arching theme” that Roth brings to it. In the Black Dahlia case, she examines “the way the media sensationalizes the murder of beautiful women.” In the Freeway Phantom murders of Washington D.C., she explores how victims of marginalized backgrounds are more readily overlooked by law enforcement.
“In each case, I look at it as a journalist,” she said.
And now, that’s for MLive. In December 2019, between her winning the book project and it being published, she came to work for MLive. First as a news reporter in Grand Rapids, and currently as an environmental reporter for our statewide coverage team. She loves her new career, but does she also see more books in her future? “Absolutely,” Roth said. “This whet my appetite. Part of the reason I love journalism is that I love writing, and I love storytelling.” “Cold Cases: Unidentified Serial Killers, Unsolved Kidnappings, and Mysterious Murders” is available at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble. To find an independent bookstore that stocks the title, visit Indiebound.org.
# # # 🎧 In this week's episode of our Behind the Headlines podcast, Eric Hultgren sits down with Cheyna Roth to talk about her new book about cold cases, journalism, parenting and how to understand media when it is coming at us at such an incredible speed. To listen to this week's episode, just click this link.
Editor's note: I value your feedback to my columns, story tips and your suggestions on how to improve our coverage. Let me know how MLive helps you, and how we can do better. Please feel free to reach out by emailing me at [email protected]. John Hiner Executive Editor Vice President of Content Mlive Media Group Download our Apps: Having trouble viewing this email? View in your browser. To ensure receipt of our emails, please add [email protected] to your address book or safe sender list. You received this email because you are a subscriber to MLive.com newsletters. Contact Us Download Our App Privacy Policy More Newsletters Unsubscribe 169 Monroe Ave NW #100 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 |