Charles Ortleb

New York Native Charles Ortleb

From 1980-1997, a little newspaper in New York found itself at the center of one of the darkest chapters in the history of science and medicine. In Rolling Stone, David Black said New York Native deserved a Pulitzer Prize for its pioneering reporting on the AIDS epidemic. The number of important stories New York Native broke about AIDS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and AIDS fraud should have guaranteed several Pulitzer Prizes. Even Randy Shilts acknowledged the New York Native's unique coverage of AIDS in And the Band Played On. But the uncompromising nature of New York Native's investigative reporting ultimately made it a thorn in the establishment's side. The moral of the New York Native story is that no important and independent journalism goes unpunished. Books by Larry Kramer, David France, and others have disparaged and distorted the history and legacy of New York Native. It's time to correct the record. New York Native contains two previously published books by Charles Ortleb, the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of New York Native. The first book, The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Epidemic Cover-up, is a detailed history of New York Native's coverage of AIDS and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The second book, The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Epidemic Cover-up Volume Two, is Mr. Ortleb's continuation of New York Native's eye-opening reporting and critical thinking about the connection between AIDS and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. In 1989, Katie Leishman wrote in Rolling Stone, "It is undeniable that many major stories were Ortleb's months and sometimes years before mainstream journalism took them up." The two books In New York Native are dramatic evidence that Mr. Ortleb has not lost his touch or relevance and is still a leading intellectual and journalistic figure in one of the most consequential events of our time.