Revisiting The Spike as the Sidney Frankel accusations gather momentum

By Alec Hogg

As the accusations against former stockbroker Sidney Frankel gained momentum in the media this week, an email from an unexpected source reminded me of a 1980 book called The Spike, written by Arnaud de Borchgrave and Robert Moss. As a green young journalist, it made a huge impression on me. Opening my eyes early on to media manipulation I've witnessed many times since.

The Spike tells the story of Bob Hockney, a radical young journalist whose career rockets as he lands one sensational scoop after another, exposing and discrediting progressively more senior members of the US Intelligence network. Only at the end does Hockney come to realise his sources are KGB agents who have been using him as a chess player would a pawn.

I have no insight into the seedy accusations against Frankel. But a couple things are already bothering me about all this. First, that email from a man who said the same people behind the case – including the attorney – tried to extort money from him with similar accusations. The other, that Frankel's attorney has taken a "bring it on" approach to the pending court case, hardly the action of one wanting to cover things up.

The Spike taught me to exercise caution in such times. It should be prescribed reading for young journalists, if only to caution that in the most sensational news stories, things are rarely what they seem.

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