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 ]
News tagged with: #media organisations #longtime rival

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Yet another brutal week for American journalism

On Wednesday, without prior warning, Pacific Standard, an award-winning magazine that has done substantive journalism on environmental and social justice, announced its imminent closure. The Social Justice Foundation, a nonprofit backed by SAGE, an academic publisher, yanked its funding from... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2019-08-09 12:12:17 UTC ]
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Revisiting Jill Johnston’s Critique of Robert Bly and ‘Iron John’

In 1992, Jill Johnston wrote for the Book Review about Robert Bly’s 1990 book “Iron John,” in which he analyzed classic fairy tales and applied them to 20th-century masculinity. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-08-02 20:48:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #robert bly #iron john #20th-century masculinity #book review


Revisiting Jill Johnston’s Critique of Richard Bly and ‘Iron John’

In 1992, Jill Johnston wrote for the Book Review about Richard Bly’s 1990 book “Iron John,” in which he analyzed classic fairy tales and applied them to 20th-century masculinity. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-08-02 18:42:00 UTC ]
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A 20-year search for the truth behind the Manson Family murders

Journalist Tom O’Neill uncovers disturbing new details about the 1969 crime and its aftermath. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-08-01 21:02:12 UTC ]
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Amazon Kindle Oasis Review: Now Is the Perfect Time to Buy an E-Reader

In an era of smartphone addiction, a single-purpose device like an e-reader may help you unplug and focus on content that will bring you joy. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-08-01 09:03:32 UTC ]
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Review: Susan Straight's new memoir amplifies stories of strong women who survive and thrive

Susan Straight's new memoir, "In the Country of Women," depicts the tough, trauma-burdened women who have populated her life. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-07-30 19:40:36 UTC ]
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Truth in Fiction: Spotlight on Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg

An author’s second novel blends timely themes into a story of familial conflict. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Filled with a New Kind of Truth: A Conversation with Samanta Schweblin

SAMANTA SCHWEBLIN’S COLLECTION of short stories Mouthful of Birds opens bleakly: When she reaches the road, Felicity understands her fate. He has not waited for her, and, as if the past were a tangible thing, she thinks she can still see the weak reddish glow of the car’s taillights fading on... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-07-10 17:00:00 UTC ]
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Another brutal week for American journalism

Between January and May this year, approximately 3,000 people working in the news industry were laid off or offered a buyout. That’s according to figures compiled by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.—a Chicago-based firm that helps workers find new employment—and reported yesterday in a... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2019-07-02 12:07:17 UTC ]
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Jane Smiley reviews a novel so intimate and familiar it’s almost as though you’re eavesdropping

Claire Lombardo’s “The Most Fun We Ever Had” is a sweeping, believable family drama. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-07-01 12:00:00 UTC ]
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PRH ceases publication of Baños title, following antisemitism review

Penguin Random House UK has ceased publication of Pedro Baños’ How They Rule the World: The 22 Secret Strategies of Global Power (Ebury) after an external review investigating allegations of antisemitism found the publisher should "have asked more questions and conducted deeper due diligence to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-26 02:11:46 UTC ]
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New L.A. book fair LitLit comes to Hauser & Wirth presented by L.A. Review of Books

Book lovers! Sign up for the new L.A. Times Book Club for upcoming author events » The Los Angeles Review of Books and Hauser & Wirth Publishers are bringing a brand-new book fair to Los Angeles next month. LitLit, the Little Literary Fair, will premiere July 20 and 21 at Hauser &... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-06-25 17:30:00 UTC ]
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Yellow Kite acquires Power of Now Journal

Yellow Kite has acquired a companion journal for its bestselling spiritual guide The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-21 10:13:21 UTC ]
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Journalism and Libraries: ‘Both Exist to Support Strong, Well-Informed Communities’

In Weare, New Hampshire, a small town about 45 minutes from the state’s southern border with Massachusetts, the local newspaper Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-06-20 19:15:00 UTC ]
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Review:: Bobby Hundreds' memoir is a snapshot of L.A.'s streetwear culture of the 2000s

The title of Bobby Hundreds' book — "This Is Not a T-Shirt" — is straight-up transparent: It's not a T-shirt. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-06-20 15:30:01 UTC ]
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Faber & Faber: by Toby Faber review – the untold story of a publishing giant

They turned down Ulysses and Animal Farm, but still shaped 20th‑century literatureAll publishing houses have archives, but for anyone interested in 20th-century literature the archive of Faber & Faber is a fabled treasure house. This is the firm that was, as Toby Faber puts it, “midwife at... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-06-20 11:00:08 UTC ]
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News Corp. reviews its options for News America marketing unit

News Corp. said it is evaluating options for its News America Marketing business that could include a sale, which would leave the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and New York Post more purely focused on media while removing what’s been a troubled unit. The review of News America, which... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-06-18 20:05:16 UTC ]
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Penguin orders independent review of book over antisemitism claims

Julia Neuberger to analyse Pedro Baños’s How They Rule the World, which includes passages about the Rothschild familyPenguin Random House has asked Rabbi Baroness Julia Neuberger to independently review one of its books, Pedro Baños’s How They Rule the World, after allegations of antisemitism... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-06-17 12:44:17 UTC ]
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Ebury launches external review of Baños book amid antisemitism allegations

Ebury has launched an independent external review of Pedro Baños’ How They Rule the World, as the PRH imprint comes under mounting pressure to withdraw the book amid allegations of antisemitism. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-16 21:16:29 UTC ]
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