Catch and Kill

Catch and Kill is a 2019 nonfiction book by the American journalist Ronan Farrow. The book details Farrow’s investigation into decades of sexual abuse and cover-ups committed by Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein as well as numerous institutional attempts to prevent his abuse coming to light.

Catch and Kill begins with investigative journalist Ronan Farrow searching for a story with producer Rich McHugh in 2016. Although rumors about Harvey Weinstein’s abusive behavior are beginning to reach the mainstream outlets such as the National Enquirer often suppress them as political and personal favors. This process is called catch and kill.

Farrow and McHugh meet with the executives at NBC while Weinstein meets with private investigators. Farrow wants to run a story on Weinstein, but Weinstein wants to shut down any potential story. NBC executives and powerful figures seem uninterested in Farrow’s story. Undaunted, he continues to interview people and chase down leads. Actress Rose McGowan provides Farrow with an explosive interview accusing Weinstein of abuse, but the president of NBC news Noah Oppenheim is reluctant to publish the story.

Through further investigative work, Farrow finds more women who survived abuse at the hands of Harvey Weinstein.