| abstract | - Stuart Goldman is a highly controversial Jewish American journalist, author and screenwriter. A former critic for the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News. He later penned an acid-tinged column for the Los Angeles Reader which earned him the moniker "the journalistic hitman." Goldman's curmudgeonly style is clearly influenced by muckrakers of the past such as H. L. Mencken, Lincoln Steffens, and Upton Sinclair. His first foray into the world of gonzo journalism came after reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson. His work was also heavily influenced by Harvey Kurtzman's work in the early issues of Mad. In addition to the literary element in those early issues, Goldman's world view was shaped by the artwork of cartoonists Bill Elder, Jack Davis and Wally Wood. Goldman's early career found him writing for left-wing papers and magazines. He was one of the original staffers for the L.A. Weekly. However, Goldman ultimately emerged as a conservative journalist whose pieces frequently appeared in National Review and other right-wing journals. Over the years, his pieces have appeared in numerous publications, including Los Angeles Magazine, Rolling Stone, Penthouse, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and California Lawyer. In addition, his syndicated column appeared in newspapers throughout the U.S. and Europe. For over three years Goldman contributed a weekly column to worldnetdaily.com. According to editor Joseph Farah, Goldman's column generated more reader response than any other columnist on the conservative website. In 1989, Goldman embarked upon a three year undercover investigation of the tabloid industry, both print and television. Using the pseudonym Wil Runyon (one of the many identities he has employed over the years), he spent three years as a "mole," with the goal of exposing them as a "criminal organization." He enlisted the help of former FBI agent Ted Gunderson and threat-assessor Gavin de Becker in writing his story. When he completed his investigation, Goldman wrote an article for Spy. After a heated bidding war, Goldman sold the rights to his story to Phoenix Pictures, who attached Oliver Stone to direct the feature film.
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