Albert Londres 18841932 was a muchtranslated French investigative journalist distinguished by the application of humour to serious reporting. His journalistic coverage was extremely wide Europe Soviet Russia the Middle East the Far East Africa South America as were his themes war revolution racism prison and asylum conditions the slave trade colonialism sport. This study compares and contrasts Londres with other globetrotting reporters from France Britain and the USA who deal courageously and innovatively with history in the making. The approach is historical sociological and rhetorical. The author investigates the shifting borderline between journalism and literature and critically examines the numerous clichs about and by journalists.