Veteran journalist Joe Sexton spent over two decades at the New York Times, where he was both Metro Editor and Sports Editor. Following a lengthy stay at ProPublica, the Brooklyn native started writing a magazine story about two tragic deaths in Omaha stemming from the 2020 George Floyd protests. The magazine piece turned into a book, and this year, the critically acclaimed account, “The Lost Sons of Omaha: Two Young Men in an American Tragedy,” was published.

Sexton joined NY1’s Errol Louis for a discussion in front of a live audience at the Center for Brooklyn History. They talked about their careers in journalism, including their early days together at the City Sun, and what drove Sexton to write a book about the deaths. They also weighed in on the death of local newspapers, how social media can both positively and negatively affect how a story gets told, and how “the good old days” weren’t always so good. 

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