Airhead by Emily Maitlis review – up close with Trump and the Dalai Lama

The chief presenter of BBC Newsnight vividly chronicles the pains and perils of news televisionEmily Maitlis’s book isn’t an autobiography. By the end we are none the wiser about what she was like as a child, her personal relationships or the pivotal moments that led to her becoming arguably the BBC’s sharpest interviewer and lead presenter of Newsnight. While she does devote a chapter to her experience of being stalked, Airhead is mostly a compendium of her biggest interviews with politicians, celebrities, thinkers and, in one case, an actual living god. In showing us what happens in front of the camera as well as the chaos behind it, her aim is less to tell her life story than reveal the blood, sweat and tears that go into planning and delivering the news. “Unlike print there is no room for annotation or commentary as you go along,” she writes in the introduction. “What appears on the screen is what people see. Everything else is just interpretation.”And so we accompany Maitlis as she is dispatched to Paris to cover the Bataclan terrorist attack; to Hong Kong to report on the umbrella democracy protests, and to Boone County, Iowa, for a Democratic caucus in a snow-smothered farmhouse. There are one-to-ones with Donald Trump, Tony Blair, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, the former civil rights activist Rachel Dolezal, Emma Thompson, James Comey and more, and here the presenter is able to share the build-up and comedown around each exchange. Some accounts work better than... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #simon cowell #bill clinton

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Does Winning a Literary Award Lead to Negative Reviews?

A new study reports that after a book wins an award its social media ratings tend to dip. The Guardian explains why. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #negative reviews


Stark warnings of library 'emergency'; hopes for new review

Industry figures have voiced hopes for the latest government-commissioned review into the library... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #industry figures


DCMS consults on closing library advisory body

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a consultation into the closure... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dcms consults #sport dcms


When the Hills Ask for Your Blood by David Belton – review

David Belton's account of the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath serve as a fitting tribute to the actions of a heroic Franciscan priestMy first reaction when confronted with David Belton's book was to ask what is to be gained from yet another book retelling the horrors of the Rwandan genocide?... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #chris mullin


Sieghart to chair new library review

An independent report on the public library service in England has been commissioned by culture... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sony to close Reader store and move users to Kobo's ebook platform in 'late March'

With its eye firmly fixed on a return to profitability, Sony's been making extensive cuts to its business arms in recent days (bye bye, VAIO!). So it's no surprise the company would train that cost-cutting eye onto another underperforming unit -- its... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook platform #late march


PRH Closing Pittston, Kirkwood Warehouses

The integration of Penguin Random House took a big physical step forward Thursday afternoon with the news that the company will close two of its four U.S. warehouses by June 2015. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sony to Close E-bookstore, Move Customers to Kobo

Sony, one of the first companies to enter the ebook market, will close its ebookstore in March and allow its American and Canadian customers to migrate their accounts to Kobo. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook market


Further Review: Budweiser's 'Puppy Love' Grabs the Pre-Super Bowl Crown

Yesterday we called the pre-Super Bowl for Doritos, but a lot can happen overnight when you put a Clydesdale and a bunch of Labrador puppies in the same ad. Therefore, upon further review, we're reversing the call: Budweiser's "Puppy Love" is champion the pre-Super Bowl champion, really crushing... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #happen overnight #make friends #visible measures


Britain's Great War; Food & Drink – TV review

Jeremy Paxman offers a view of the first world war that has its insights but avoids important questions that need answeringThe battle to carve up the 100th anniversary of the first world war began early this month with education secretary Michael Gove accusing historians and Blackadder – he... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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DA-notice committee's future under review

The existence of the D-notice (aka DA-notice) committee is under threat, reports the Sunday Times. It cites sources who say some officials in the Ministry of Defence, which is considering a review of the system, want to fold the committee into the new press regulator or place it within the MoD's... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #world war #digital age #associate editor


Two Bookstores Close, While Two Move Forward, in Wisconsin

While two independent bookstores in Door County, Wisconsin, have closed or will close, two others report an uptick in sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #move forward #independent bookstores


House of Fun by Simon Hoggart – review

A fitting salute to the Guardian's late parliamentary sketch writerI thought it unnecessary, and perhaps ethically dubious, to cover this book when its first edition came out in 2012; but now, following Simon Hoggart's death earlier this month, and the addition of a selection from a year's worth... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #english language


Hatchet Job of the Year shortlist - 2013's most negative reviews in quotes

Tasters of the reviews competing for the annual prize that recognises 'the angriest, funniest, most trenchant book review of the past 12 months'News: Hatchet Job of the Year award draws and quarters shortlistCraig Brown on Distant Intimacy: A Friendship in the Age of the Internet by Frederic... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paul theroux


Big Hat Books Temporarily Closes

Big Hat Books, Indianapolis' only independent full-service general bookstore selling only new books, is temporarily closing while its owner looks for a new, smaller retail space. The 10-year-old bookstore will be closed for an undetermined length of time. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The History of Oxford University Press, Volume III: 1896-1970 edited by Wm Roger Louis – review

Should book publishing be all about profit? The success of OUP, despite its elitism, suggests notOUP is one of Britain's truly great institutions, up there, or nearly, with the NHS and the BBC. As in these other cases, its modern history has been largely dominated by the struggle to preserve its... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chicago Review Press Acquires Academy Chicago

Academy Chicago Publishers will become an imprint of Chicago Review Press and will expand its publishing program to 15-20 titles per year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing program


PW Online and On Air: PW’s Digital Year in Review

Last year was a great year for PW online. We added new podcasts and newsletters, made a ton of friends on Twitter and Facebook, and have had the busiest year ever at publishersweekly.com. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pw online #great year #busiest year


Mrs. Nelson’s to Close

The iconic Southern California children’s specialty bookstore will close its doors sometime next month. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #specialty bookstore