The Stingray: Lethal Tactics of The Sole Survivor Book

Los Angeles (12/15/00) Five-time Emmy winning investigative reporter Peter Lance, who collaborated with Survivor millionaire Rich Hatch on his bio only to have a $500,000 deal with St. Martin's Press collapse due to network control, has just released the findings of his blistering exposé: The Stingray: Lethal Tactics Of The Sole Survivor by Shadow Lawn Press and Cinema 21 Books.

* Hatch a former employee of CBS may have been ineligible to even participate on Survivor.
* Castaway Stacey Stillman, alleged that series producers may have intervened with other Castaways to spur her ejection in Episode Three only three days after she'd won immunity.
* A July attempt to organize the 16 Castaways into boycotting the Survivor Reunion in return for $1 million ended when Hatch contacted CBS with word of the "alliance."
* Producers substituted Dr. Sean Kenniff and single mother Jenna Lewis for the original choices of the two Tribes in the "Ambassadors Summit," a move that could have affected the outcome.
* Background checks failed to discover that Hatch narrowly escaped a year in prison in the mid 80's after an arrest. He also boasted of fathering 300 children in a Virginia sperm bank but lied on a letter to the sperm bank's director in an effort to contact the children.

A former Investigative Correspondent for ABC News, Lance won the Robert F. Kennedy and National Headliner Awards. The St. Martin's deal fell apart when Hatch failed to deliver permission from CBS which controls his life rights. "Rich is muzzled," says Lance. "I'm not, so this is the untold behind-the-scenes story of his victory and post-Survivor aftermath."

The St. Martin's incident caused Lance to begin an inquiry into limits on other Survivors and what he found was startling: "CBS exercised incredible control over these people," says Lance. "Literally acting as gate keepers on every attempt the Castaways made to capitalize on their Survivor fame." In addition to nixing Hatch's $500,000 book deal, Lance discovered that CBS also vetoed lucrative dates for other Castaways because the network believed they conflicted with Survivor sponsors or rival media entities. In one case Jenna and Castaway Gervase Peterson lost $10,000.00 apiece for two hours of work.

Lance's book operates on three levels: It's a tell-all with the real, unvarnished inside story on Hatch's Machiavellian strategy; it's a page turner with shocking insights into Hatch's Dickensian roller coaster life and it's a textbook for reality show aspirants on how to jump-start their careers once they hit the hot lights of media fame. People who never saw a minute of Survivor will appreciate the series and Survivor "junkies" will learn things they never knew about this reality show.

Lance's exposé of how Hatch went "from Richard The Lionhearted to Richard III," will hit bookstores on December 15th with cover art and illustrations by famed cartoonist Zeebarf. William J. Birnes, publisher of Shadow Lawn Press says: "Mark Burnett, the series producer, gave us his unique perspective in his bestseller Survivor: The Ultimate Game. Richard Hatch has served up his own spin in his memoir 101 Survival Secrets, but The Stingray, a metaphor for Hatch's persona on the Island, will be the one uncensored critical look at this media phenomenon."