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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Rakuten Kobo Forma e-reader review: Refined experience, flawed package

The Rakuten Kobo Forma is a poster child for the tug-of-war behind the design of every device you own. Companies strive to find the right balance of size, weight and features based on market research and what’s worked well for them in the past. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes things go... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2018-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kobo aura #rakuten kobo #market research


Palin’s North Korea journal to be published by Hutchinson

Hutchinson is set to publish Michael Palin’s North Korea journal after associate publisher Nigel Wilcockson acquired the Monty Python member's account of his trip to one of the world’s most isolated countries. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Maya C. Popa Joins 'PW' as Poetry Reviews Editor

Maya C. Popa has joined 'Publishers Weekly' as its new poetry reviews editor. She is a widely published poet and critic, and will be responsible for editing reviews of poetry collections at the magazine. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #poetry collections


Kindle Paperwhite review (2018): A classic, updated

Until now, the Kindle Paperwhite had three mortal enemies: water, airplane seatback pockets (just me that keeps leaving them on planes?) and book snobs. While there's no hope for the latter, one of those issues isn't long for this world, as this year... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle paperwhite #book snobs


Ruth Jones: ‘My biggest disappointment? The Guardian's review of my book’

The actor and writer on mistaking Simon Callow for Stephen Fry, the joys of a foot massage and why it’s more important to splash out on a bed than a carBorn in south Wales, Ruth Jones, 52, trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. In 2000, she appeared in Fat Friends with James... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #james corden #early age #sue perkins


Review: Olafur Eliasson brings planetary magic back down to Earth at his mesmerizing exhibition at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

If you’re too busy to watch the full moon rise just after dusk, and can’t get away from work to see a solar eclipse, head over to Olafur Eliasson’s mesmerizing exhibition at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in Los Angeles. Titled “The speed of your attention,” the four-gallery delight will put you in mind... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Timbuktu raises $218,000 to publish Rebel Girls journal

The founders of the Rebel Girls books have raised $218,937 to publish a new book, a "guided journal that helps girls train their rebel spirit and lead the revolution of our time". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Harvard Business Review, Paid Circulation Surges For a Second Straight Year

After Harvard Business Review kicked off 2017 by reducing its print frequency to bimonthly—eliminating 40 percent of the issues offered in a $99 annual subscription—it was a combination of smart positioning, creative new digital benefits, and a heavier investment in the six print issues that... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC News CEO Jim Egan: ‘We’re in a battle for survival for quality journalism’

At our Digiday+ live podcast event, BBC Global News CEO Jim Egan reveals his thoughts on the state of news publishing. The post BBC News CEO Jim Egan: ‘We’re in a battle for survival for quality journalism’ appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2018-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #quality journalism #news publishing


Books: The library fire, a criminal family, reviews and book news

Hello! I’m books editor Carolyn Kellogg with this week’s books newsletter from the L.A. Times. THE BIG STORY Although Susan Orlean is a staff writer for the New Yorker, she lives in Los Angeles part-time, and for the last six years has been writing a book that investigates a mystery many of us... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book news #books newsletter #big story #susan orlean #staff writer


Kate Atkinson calls authors reviewing their peers a 'callous art'

British novelist who recently published latest book Transcription says she tries not to read bad reviewsThe literary world is packed with novelists reviewing the books of their colleagues but it is not something Kate Atkinson would do, calling it a “callous art”. Related: Drawn from life: why... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #british novelist #kate atkinson


Review: Nick Nolte, Tim Roth highlight wobby Colombia-set neo-noir ‘The Padre’

A heavyweight cast and superb location-shooting carries “The Padre,” an otherwise meandering crime thriller. Director Jonathan Sobol and screenwriter Stephen Kunc effectively replicate the tone and eccentricity of a pulp paperback but can’t arrange all their good ideas into anything solid. Unlike... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CILIP makes changes at Carnegie and Kate Greenaway following diversity review

Library and information association CILIP has opened up nominations for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards to other industry bodies and is introducing a ‘children’s choice’ prize, in response to the recommendations an independently chaired diversity review. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kate greenaway #industry bodies


The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell review – memoir

A proprietor’s journey from ‘amenable and friendly’ to ‘intolerant and antisocial’According to George Orwell, “there are always plenty of not quite certifiable lunatics walking the streets and they tend to gravitate towards bookshops”. Bythell’s diary suggests that not much has changed, in this... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #george orwell #book shop #constant barrage


Books: The trouble with publishing accused harassers; Ernie, Bert and authorial intent; the Brown family dynasty; and more book news

Welcome! It’s sunny here in El Segundo. I’m Carolyn Kellogg with not one but two essays from Critics at Large this week, because it has been a big week for cultural questions in the world of books. Let’s get started. THE FIRST BIG ESSAY Critic at Large Laila Lalami looks at two big recent essays... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big week #book news #el segundo #carolyn kellogg


New York Review of Books editor Ian Buruma departs amid outrage over essay

Writer and academic steps down after publishing and defending Jian Ghomeshi piece deemed to be at odds with spirit of #MeTooIan Buruma, the writer and academic, has stepped down from the editorship of the New York Review of Books after only 16 months, after he caused outrage by publishing and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #york review #robert silvers ##metoo


Under the Wire review – fearsome account of war reporting in Syria

War photographer Paul Conroy is magnetic as he untangles the nuances of his profession in this screen version of his memoirChristopher Martin’s film is an urgent documentary version of Under the Fire, the memoir published by war photographer Paul Conroy about his friendship and professional... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir published #professional partnership #killing fields #assad regime #brand identity #drawing attention


Attorney general announces review of social media platforms following Capitol Hill hearing

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill questioned top executives at Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday about their companies’ ability to thwart foreign interference, and hinted that industry regulations may be coming. The “size and reach of your platforms demand that we, as policy-makers, do our job, to ensure... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alan Rusbridger | Journalism can be anything—that is its great strength, or great weakness

As the editor of the Guardian through a period of tumultuous industry change, Alan Rusbridger says that the news sector needs to be fixed. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Iranian illustrator to attend Edinburgh after visa trouble

Iranian illustrator Marjan Vafaeian has received a visa ahead of an appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival but illustrator-in-residence Ehsan Abdollahi is still waiting, their publisher has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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