Life Behind the Camera

Book excerpt: For the past thirty years, Chuck Quinzio has been filming life on the streets of Chicago as a television news cameraman. "Life Behind the Camera" is his vividly colorful memoir; a chronicle of the news stories of the last three decades, told from a cameraman's perspective. *Stand alongside a young gangbanger lying on the streets of Chicago, struggling to stay alive. *Chase down celebrities (Michael Jackson, Princess Diana, Michael Jordan, Harry Caray), politicians (Harold Washington, Rod Blagojevich), and criminals (including mob bosses). *Cheat death as you hang out of a helicopter, or slink out of a housing project amid a flurry of flying bullets, or maneuver your way around the gruesome underbelly of Chicago. *Hang out in Chicago's television newsrooms--and learn the behind the scenes machinations of assignment editors, reporters, news directors, anchors, and crew. *Spend time with a network television news crew, flying into such hotspots as Iowa, Nebraska, and Ohio. *And of course, experience the joy and splendor of the city of Chicago. Quinzio's storytelling paints a picture of Chicago and the television news business you'll never forget; tragic, gritty, frightening, and laugh-out-loud hilarious.