Merchants of Truth by Jill Abramson review – journalism’s troubles

A former editor of the New York Times takes an unsparing look at the decline of US journalismThis book about the commercial takeover of the news business is sure to make a lot of powerful people very angry. Jill Abramson takes an unsparing look at US journalism’s moral decline; as former executive editor of the New York Times, she is someone who knows where most of the bodies are buried and is prepared to draw the reader a detailed map. Names are named, mistakes are exposed, and the writing is unforgiving and unadorned, as befits a woman with “balls like iron cantaloupes”, as one veteran journalist tells her. It is a cracking read, and a complicated one, flawed in many places yet absorbing in its frank desire to hold journalism to account for becoming overly willing to sell out to advertisers and thereby endangering its own future.Abramson compares four media organisations: the New York Times; its longtime rival the Washington Post; BuzzFeed; and Vice. These last two digital media companies, born of early viral content and gonzo reporting, are often the madcap foils to the gravitas of the Times and Post – though by the end it’s clear that all four are closer to each other than they may think. In fact, both the digital and traditional publications have shown great adaptability; BuzzFeed and Vice have unquestionably succeeded, in a short time, in producing compelling journalism, even in Abramson’s telling. As well as a Pulitzer nomination, both have won highly respected... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wilmers steps down as London Review of Books editor

Mary-Kay Wilmers is stepping down as editor of the London Review of Books after nearly three decades in the post. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-29 16:45:23 UTC ]
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London Review of Books editor Mary-Kay Wilmers steps down after 30 years

Influential editor and co-founder of the literary magazine to be succeeded by senior staffMary-Kay Wilmers is stepping down from her role as editor of the London Review of Books, a position she has held for almost 30 years.Wilmers was one of the founders of the literary magazine in 1979, along... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-01-29 15:28:52 UTC ]
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Vliegenthart's book club journal to Mitchell Beazley

Mitchell Beazley has acquired a "book club journal" from vlogger Sanne Vliegenthart Books & Quills, helping readers to get the most out of being part of a book club. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-27 01:37:43 UTC ]
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25 Great Book Reviews From the Past 125 Years

To celebrate the Book Review’s 125th anniversary, we’re dipping into the archives to revisit our most thrilling, memorable and thought-provoking coverage. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-01-25 16:00:20 UTC ]
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Headline Review acquires two from Babalola in 'whirlwind' pre-empt

Headline Review has acquired Honey & Spice plus one more novel by Bolu Babalola, author of story collection Love in Colour (Headline, 2020).  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-25 14:45:57 UTC ]
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Review: A family travel memoir makes a timely pitch for personal risk

Charles Wheelan's "We Came, We Saw, We Left" charts the Wheelan family's frantic global "gap year" — infections, iffy street food, tantrums and all. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-01-22 18:26:12 UTC ]
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The Troubled Task of Defining Southern Literature in 2021

In 2016, while touring in support of my debut novel, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, I appeared on a panel at the Mississippi Book Festival in Jackson. Despite (or perhaps because of) its troubled history, Mississippi is the Ground Zero of Southern literature, chiefly because of the towering... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-22 09:49:24 UTC ]
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Mclaughlin, Scott and Thomas made editors at White Review

Rosanna Mclaughlin, Izabella Scott and Skye Arundhati Thomas have been confirmed as the new editors of literary magazine the White Review.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-20 09:34:08 UTC ]
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Film review: in My Salinger Year, hope and optimism win out

Based on Joanna Rakoff's memoir of working for JD Salinger's agent, the film lacks some of the wit but none of the heart of Joanna's story. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2021-01-13 01:19:06 UTC ]
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Headline Review bags 'swoon-worthy' debut

Headline Publishing Group has acquired The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta, a "bold, swoon-worthy and utterly modern" debut novel.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-11 23:10:10 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Saving Justice,’ by James Comey

Comey’s “Saving Justice” is a revealing memoir that describes his feelings about Trump and his worries about the nation. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-01-10 23:00:02 UTC ]
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Journalism’s obligation to democracy extends beyond the runoffs

Yesterday, Georgia voters returned to the polls to decide which candidates would represent the state in the US Senate—and, by extension, which party would control Congress for the next two years. Early this morning, national outlets declared Reverend Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, the winner of... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2021-01-06 15:02:37 UTC ]
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Chicago Review Press Acquires Select Fulcrum Titles

Chicago Review Press, a publishing subsidiary of the distributor IPG, has reached an agreement to acquire 126 select backlist titles, as well as a handful of forthcoming books, from Fulcrum Publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
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First Lady Jill Biden to Speak at the 2021 ALA Virtual Midwinter Meeting

The January 25 appearance, in what will be among Dr. Biden's first appearances as First Lady of the United States, is a major show of support for the library community. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-31 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Review: A striking debut novel imagines two enslaved men in love

"The Prophets," by Robert Jones Jr., depicts an intense bond between Isaiah and Samuel on a plantation in unbearable and untenable circumstances. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-12-29 15:00:38 UTC ]
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The 10 most-read book reviews of 2020

Bestsellers, celebrities and Trump satires were of particular interest this year. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-28 13:19:00 UTC ]
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Nick Hern signs actor Terara's Hamilton journal

Theatre publisher Nick Hern Books is releasing a “joyous” personal account of the London production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit “Hamilton” by its award-winning star Giles Terera. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-23 04:50:41 UTC ]
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The Bookseller's Tale by Martin Latham review – a literary celebration

Latham, a bookseller for 35 years, has put together a heady mix of history, philosophy, anecdotes and entertaining factsWhat most people know about the American librarian Melvil Dewey is his phenomenal classification technique, the Dewey decimal system, which is still used in 135 countries. Less... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-12-19 09:00:45 UTC ]
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Bite-size book reviews: Fiction our readers loved in 2020

Need a new novel? Classic adventures, satire, and dystopian science fiction top this year's round-up of reader book recommendations for fiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-12-18 22:08:27 UTC ]
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Bite-size book reviews: Fiction our readers loved in 2020

Need a new novel? Classic adventures, satire, and dystopian science fiction top this year's round-up of reader book recommendations for fiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-12-18 22:08:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #readers loved #classic adventures #science fiction