Breaking News [Hardcover]

Robert Macneil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 1998

Famous for his nearly forty years in broadcast journalism, Robert MacNeil is one of the most respected television journalists in America. Now in Breaking News, a blistering, behind-the-scenes novel about the savagely competitive world of television news, he writes about this world he knows best--a world where integrity is held hostage in the relentless pursuit of the bottom line.

Anchorman Grant Munro is at what should be the pinnacle of a brilliant career. Having covered every major story from the Kennedy assassination to the Clinton sex scandals, Munro has won the admiration, respect, and trust of his viewers. About to turn sixty in an industry no longer controlled by top-notch journalists but by profit-hungry conglomerates, Munro suddenly feels his career threatened--especially when Bill Donovan, a handsome reporter with little experience but a high Q rating, vies for his anchor post. Dragged into a media circus where "soft news" and tabloid television are becoming the staples of nightly news broadcasts, Munro negotiates a minefield of scheming, greed, and betrayal to hold onto what he prizes. Acclaimed for his two previous novels, Robert MacNeil is a proven storyteller, now triumphantly on his home turf. Breaking News is not only an intimate look at a fascinating industry, but a profound study of character under pressure.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When he looks in the mirror, Grant Munro is no longer sure what he sees. Is he gazing upon a celebrated journalist and anchor man or an aging icon who should step aside and let the younger generation take over? This question is at the heart of Breaking News, in which PBS poster boy Robert MacNeil leads us on an entertaining romp through the messy, greed-driven, back-stabbing world of TV news. Our hero, in fact, questions the very use of the word news to describe cheap entertainment, warm sops for increasingly limited attention spans, filler between commercials. Soon, however, Grant finds himself on the defensive, riddled with self-doubt and fighting for his life (not to mention his $5 million-plus salary).

While much of what MacNeil has to say about the state of TV news is itself hardly news, he does provide an intriguing set of characters and a rich layer of sleazy detail. He also offers a wired version of the Greek chorus in the person of Hollygo Lightly, a self-described "First Electronic Black Drag Queen Gossip Columnist." And when Hollygo fingers Grant's potential replacement as an aggressive blonde bombshell with not a jot of journalistic integrity, the novel shifts into narrative high gear. Also on hand are a dim blackmailer, a smarter private detective, and some rather too revealing snapshots of the aforementioned blonde. Will the pics see the light of day and sink a career or two? Will Grant give in to pressure to have a face lift and turn his news program into a circus? And will TV news ever be the same? All we can say is, tune in. --Marianne Painter

From Publishers Weekly

MacNeil's previous fictional efforts, Burden of Desire and The Voyage, both struck out in unexpected directions; this one, however, is just the kind of novel you would expect from the former PBS news anchor. The decline of journalistic standards in TV's news divisions and the upswing in bubble-headed tabloid magazine shows is a topical theme, and one to which MacNeil is ideally qualified to do justice. And it is clear there is a great deal of the author in upright anchorman Grant Munro, who came to his national prominence the hard way and resents the poseurs and actors who seem to be replacing his sturdy authority image. A particularly egregious example is glamorous but cold Ann Murrow (Barbara Walters, anyone?), whom Munro's network seems eager to bring aboard even as his contract negotiations stall and the 60-ish anchor wonders anxiously whether he should put in for a face lift. Meanwhile, a writer for Time is pursuing him for a cover profile as a symbol of how TV news is changing. It's a crowded canvas, and MacNeil paints it swiftly and skillfully; the very real questions of taste, integrity and the marketplace are explored thoroughly but never tediously, and the conversations of the powerful, usually over lunch at the Four Seasons or Lutece, have an authentic ring. A subplot involving a blackmail attempt over lubricious pictures taken of Murrow in her youth is unconvincing and, in the end, pointless. But in every other respect the book is that rare bird: a highly intelligent, readable fiction about issues that count. Munro may be a bit of a stick, but his heart is in the right place.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Nan A. Talese; 1st edition (October 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038542020X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385420204
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,366,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but flaws are evident., February 19, 2007

By 

Burke H. Moeller "Burke" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breaking News (Harvest Book) (Paperback)

I work in the broadcast news industry, so I liked reading about a lot of the behind the scenes scenes in the upper echelons of my business. As a novel though, there were some shortcomings. As posted earlier, the ending was underdeveloped. The last 20 scenes or so were no longer than one or two pages, and many of them were shorter than one page. If MacNeil could have extended some of these scenes to 3-5 pages long, the reader would have benefitted from the extra details. The short chapters he uses throughout the book are a bit ironic, especially after his main character Grant criticizes Marty for constantly making edits and stories shorter. MacNeil does the very thing he criticizes the younger generation, represented by Marty, for doing. Also, the whole plot had the feeling of a big office soap opera at times.
The strong points come from the insight MacNeil spreads throughout the book about the tv news industry. And the Hollygo blogger idea was ahead of its time, for the late 1990's.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I've read i before, June 14, 2000

By 

Bard Schive (Tromso, Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking News (Hardcover)

I found the book revealing and easy to read. The story is quite good, although Munro is portrayed a bit too one-dimentional. Having read MacNeil's previous biographies, I recognized many of the situations, especially in reference to historical events. I came away with the feeling that MacNeil drew heavily on his own experiences as a journalist. This book is not so much a novel, but an observation of the current state og network news, based on personal knowledge.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an succinct commentary on modern journalism, December 12, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Melbourne,Australia.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking News (Hardcover)

Macneil presents a compelling insight into the competing agendas in modern journalism. The struggle between the conservative,experienced Munro[perhaps a fictional Jennings],who prides himself on examining what he sees as real news & issues,and the forces of the market such as the increasing amount of tabloid journalism present on the main networks[perhaps a swipe at Brokaw],is presented in an entertaining dialogue. The intersecting issues,such as the rise of new talent,political infighting,and the role of media intrigue,adds to the reality of Munro's dilemma. Macneil's obvious inside knowledge of the tv news divisions and the stuggles they face with cable,news magazines & the internet make this book even more compelling. Overall,an essential book for any student of the media,politics & corporate backstabbing.