# James Neff

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{{Short description|American nonfiction author and investigative journalist}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [:Template:Infobox writer/doc](/source/%3ATemplate%3AInfobox_writer%2Fdoc) -->
| name        = James Neff
| image       = Jim neff at bookstore.jpg
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| birth_place = United States
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| occupation  = Author, investigative journalist, editor
| nationality = American
| period      =
| genre       = [Non-fiction](/source/Non-fiction)
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'''James Neff''' is an American [non-fiction](/source/non-fiction) author and [investigative journalist](/source/investigative_journalism).  He is a managing editor for the Oregon Journalism Project. His most recent work ''Vendetta:  [Bobby Kennedy](/source/Robert_F._Kennedy) versus [Jimmy Hoffa](/source/Jimmy_Hoffa)'', was published by [Little, Brown and Company](/source/Little%2C_Brown_and_Company) in July 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Neff|first1=James|title=Vendetta|url=http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/james-neff/vendetta/9780316738347/|website=Hatchette Book Group|accessdate=28 July 2015}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Neff is a graduate of the [University of Notre Dame](/source/University_of_Notre_Dame) and has a [master's degree](/source/master's_degree) in [American Civilization](/source/History_of_the_United_States) from the [University of Texas at Austin](/source/University_of_Texas_at_Austin).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rcfp.org/James_Neff/|accessdate=9 June 2025 |title=James Neff }}</ref>

==Career==
Neff was a reporter at the [Austin American-Statesman](/source/Austin_American-Statesman) and at the [Cleveland Plain Dealer](/source/Cleveland_Plain_Dealer)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Maier|first1=Thomas|title=Newhouse: All the Glitter, Power & Glory of America's Richest Media Empire & the Secretive Man Behind It|date=1994|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=1-55566-191-2|page=121}}</ref> in his hometown. He was a local [columnist](/source/columnist) at the Plain Dealer from 1981 to 1986.<ref>{{cite news|title=Books of the Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/30/books/books-of-the-times-jury-of-one-finds-the-accused-not-guilty.html|website=New York Times|accessdate=4 August 2015|date=November 30, 2001}}</ref> Some of his columns were collected into ''City Beat: Stories from the Heart of Cleveland.''

His 1989 biography of [Teamsters](/source/Teamsters) president [Jackie Presser](/source/Jackie_Presser), ''Mobbed Up: [Jackie Presser](/source/Jackie_Presser)'s High-Wire Life in the Teamsters, the Mafia, and the FBI'', was adapted into the [HBO](/source/HBO) movie ''Teamster Boss.''<ref>{{cite web|title=Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105553/|website=IMDB|date=12 September 1992|accessdate=1 August 2015}}</ref>

In 1995, Neff's third book, ''Unfinished Murder:  The Capture of a Serial Rapist'' was published.  This account of the investigation, capture, and conviction of serial rapist [Ronnie Shelton](/source/Ronnie_Shelton), known in [Cleveland](/source/Cleveland) as the West Side Rapist, was praised for its insight into the damage inflicted upon the victims of this violent man.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kirkus Review: Unfinished Murder|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/james-neff/unfinished-murder/|website=KIRKUS Reviews|accessdate=4 August 2015}}</ref>

Neff was the Willard M. Kiplinger Chair in Public Affairs Reporting in [Ohio State University](/source/Ohio_State_University)<!--Wikipedians do not use "The" as part of Ohio State's name; it is considered a marketing gimmick, and routinely deleted.--> School of Journalism and Communication from 1994 to 1999.<ref>{{cite web|title=New Kiplinger Professor Named|url=https://news.osu.edu/news/1999/08/05/99-08-05_New_Kiplinger_Professor_Named/|website=The Ohio State University News Room|accessdate=1 August 2015|date=August 5, 1999}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In this position, he supervised the Kiplinger Mid-Career Program in Public Affairs Reporting, an [interdisciplinary year-long program](/source/Academic_major) awarding master's degrees to journalists who break from their careers for an intensive study of public affairs reporting.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kiplinger Programs at The Ohio State University|url=http://www.kiplingerprogram.org/kiplinger/about_us_staff.html|website=Kiplinger Programs at The Ohio State University}}</ref>

Neff spent several years re-investigating the Dr. [Sam Sheppard](/source/Sam_Sheppard) murder case for his next book, ''The Wrong Man:  The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case''. He located police reports and [grand jury](/source/grand_jury) [transcript](/source/transcript_(law))s from the 1950s that were previously unavailable. He concluded that Dr. Sam Sheppard did not kill his wife [Marilyn](/source/Sam_Sheppard) in July 1954.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Wrong Man|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/11/books/review/11SALAMOT.html|website=New York Times|accessdate=4 August 2015|date=November 11, 2001}}</ref>

When, in 2000, [Sam Reese Sheppard](/source/Sam_Sheppard), son of the late Dr. Sheppard, sued the state of [Ohio](/source/Ohio) claiming his father was wrongfully imprisoned for [Marilyn Sheppard](/source/Sam_Sheppard)'s murder, county prosecutors in [Cleveland](/source/Cleveland), Ohio, subpoenaed all of Neff's research for his book in an attempt to shore up its case that Sheppard was guilty.<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news|last1=Johnston|first1=David Cay|title=MediaTalk: Writer Fights Subpoena in Sheppard Case|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/10/business/mediatalk-writer-fights-subpoena-in-sheppard-case.html|accessdate=29 July 2015|date=January 10, 2000}}</ref> The subpoena was successfully defeated with the help of First Amendment lawyer David Marburger.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Marburger |first1=David |title=BakerHostetler |url=http://www.bakerlaw.com/DavidMarburger |website=BakerHostetler |accessdate=30 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912001005/http://www.bakerlaw.com/DavidMarburger |archivedate=12 September 2015 }}</ref>

Neff was interviewed on the cable program, "A Crime to Remember:  The Wrong Man," a retrospective look at the Marilyn Sheppard murder which aired in December, 2015, on the Investigations Discovery Channel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5024620/|title = The Wrong Man| website=[IMDb](/source/IMDb) |date = 15 December 2015}}</ref>

Neff has been a board member<ref>{{cite web|title=IRE Past Board Members|url=http://www.ire.org/about/board-directors/past-board-members/|website=IRE|accessdate=1 August 2015|archive-date=22 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722032041/http://ire.org/about/board-directors/past-board-members/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and past president<ref>{{cite web|title=Backgrounding on deadline|url=https://ire.org/events-and-training/event/1574/1930/|website=IRE|accessdate=1 August 2015}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> of [Investigative Reporters and Editors](/source/Investigative_Reporters_and_Editors), Inc. (IRE) from 1991 through 2002.  Through IRE, he has published several "[tip sheets](/source/tip_sheets)" for investigative reporters on finding information in a hurry, backgrounding, and finding and using [archival documents](/source/archival_research).<ref>{{cite web|title=IRE: Resource Center: Tip Sheets|url=http://www.ire.org/resource-center/tipsheets/?q=jim+neff|website=Investigative Reporters and Editors|date = 21 October 2009}}</ref>

In 2001, Neff became the [investigations editor](/source/Investigative_Journalism) at the [Seattle Times](/source/Seattle_Times).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Neff|first1=James|title=A Big Crook, Kennedys and More|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/a-big-crook-the-kennedys-and-more-the-lurid-tale-of-seattles-dave-beck-and-the-teamsters-union/|website=Seattle Times|accessdate=1 August 2015|date=July 3, 2015}}</ref> In March, 2016, Neff was named assistant managing editor of investigations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/newsroom-staff/#the-editors|title = Newsroom staff &#124; the Seattle Times}}</ref>

On June 1, 2016, Neff became the assistant managing editor for Investigations/Projects for the [Philadelphia Media Network](/source/Philadelphia_Media_Network). In 2017, Neff was named deputy managing editor.

In 2016, Neff served on the jury selecting the [Pulitzer Prize](/source/Pulitzer_Prize) for Public Service reporting.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/associated-press| title = The Pulitzer Prizes}}</ref> In 2017, Neff served as chair of the jurors selecting the Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/eric-eyre| title = The Pulitzer Prizes}}</ref>

In April 2025, Neff joined the Oregon Journalism Project as a Managing Editor.<ref>{{cite web| title = Who We Are| url = https://www.oregonjournalismproject.org/who-we-are}}</ref>  The Oregon Journalism Project is a nonprofit investigative journalism newsroom created in 2024 to cover state and local government in Oregon.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.wweek.com/news/2024/08/21/oregon-journalism-project-launches-statewide-civic-newsroom/| title = Oregon Journalism Project Launches Statewide Civic Newsroom| date = 22 August 2024}}</ref>

==Works==
* ''City Beat: Stories from the Heart of Cleveland'' (Zubal, 1984) {{ISBN|9780939738557}}
* ''Mobbed Up: Jackie Presser's High-Wire Life in the Teamsters, the Mafia, and the FBI'' (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989) {{ISBN|978-0871133441}}
* ''Unfinished Murder: The Capture of a Serial Rapist'' (Pocket Books, 1995) {{ISBN|978-0743460552}}
* ''The Wrong Man: The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case'' (Random House, 2001) {{ISBN|978-0679457190}}
* ''Vendetta: Bobby Kennedy versus Jimmy Hoffa'' (Little, Brown and Company, 2015) {{ISBN|978-0316738347}}

== Awards ==
''Mobbed Up'', published by [Atlantic Monthly Press](/source/Atlantic_Monthly_Press) (1989), won the Thomas Renner award from Investigative Reporters & Editors for the year's best reporting on organized crime.<ref>{{cite web|title=IRE: Thomas Renner Award|url=https://apnews.com/c74e7053cc5ef00a05e6b5b01b97dc36|website=Publishers Editors Managing Editors|accessdate=30 July 2015|date=March 25, 1991}}</ref>

In 1996, Neff was an [Edgar Award](/source/Edgar_Award) nominee for Best Fact Crime Book for ''Unfinished Murder''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Edgar Awards: Best Fact Crime Edgar Award |url=http://www.mysterynet.com/edgars/previous/factcrime/ |website=The Edgar Awards |accessdate=1 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022134159/http://www.mysterynet.com/edgars/previous/factcrime/ |archivedate=22 October 2014 }}</ref>

Neff was lead writer for the 18-part series, “The Terrorist Within",<ref>{{cite web|title=The Terrorist Within|url=http://old.seattletimes.com/news/nation-world/terroristwithin/|website=Seattle Times|accessdate=31 July 2015|date=July 22, 2002}}</ref> which was a finalist for the [Pulitzer Prize](/source/Pulitzer_Prize) for investigative reporting in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Pulitzer Prize: Investigative Reporting|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Investigative-Reporting|publisher=The Pulitzer Prize: Investigative Reporting|accessdate=31 July 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neff, James}}
Category:Living people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:20th-century American male journalists
Category:American investigative journalists
Category:American male biographers
Category:University of Notre Dame alumni
Category:The Seattle Times people
Category:Journalists from Cleveland
Category:Austin American-Statesman people
Category:20th-century American journalists
Category:21st-century American journalists
Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni
Category:21st-century American male journalists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Neff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Neff) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Neff?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.