The Business of Journalism: Ten Leading Reporters and Editors on the Perils and Pitfalls of the Press [Paperback]

William Serrin (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1565845811 | ISBN-13: 978-1565845817 | Publication Date: June 2000 | Edition: 1ST

Candid and revealing essays on the state of American journalism by leading practitioners. In recent years the nature of American journalism--and the press's role in everyday life--has dramatically changed. In The Business of Journalism, ten leading reporters and editors speak for-the-record about the changes they've seen and the effects such changes have wrought. These seasoned journalists tackle such controversial issues as how the press lost the public trust; the increasing concentration of ownership in the media business and its consequences for freedom of the press; the ongoing struggle to integrate America's newsrooms; and the pressures on smaller, independent newspapers. The Business of Journalism is an insider's look at a fascinating and changing industry.

Contributors include: * Ronnie Dugger, former publisher, The Texas Observer * Tom and Pat Gish, publishers, The Mountain Eagle, Whitesburg, Kentucky * Jay Harris, publisher, Mother Jones * John Leonard, television critic, CBS Sunday Morning * Sydney Schanberg, former New York Times correspondent and columnist * E. R. Shipp, ombudsman, The Washington Post * James Warren, Washington bureau chief, Chicago Tribune *Vanessa Williams, president, National Association of Black Journalists

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Edited by an ex-New York Times labor reporter and based on a series of talks given at the New York University journalism department, this book collects iconoclastic ideas about contemporary journalistic ethics. ContributorsAwho range from former New York Times columnist Sydney Schanberg to Mother Jones publisher Jay HarrisAcriticize both the knotty compromises they believe journalists often make, and newspapers' increasing entanglements with American business. Schanberg, for example, recounts his quixotic effort to persuade the mainstream press to cover itself more aggressively, and Harris warns of a "master narrative"A"part ignorance, part arrogance, part bias, part laziness, and part the economic self-interest" of publishers and reportersAthat leads reporters to ignore corporate power. On the other hand, contributors like Tom and Pat Gish, owners and editors of the Whitesburg, Ky. Mountain Eagle, suggest that all is not lostAthey tell an inspiring story about how their tiny paper has managed to spotlight local inequities. Similarly, former Times legal affairs reporter E.R. Shipp suggests that it's still possible to navigate newsroom shoals (such as in-house politics) and publish good stories. But the book is behind the times; because all the contributorsAexcept John Leonard, of CBS's Sunday MorningAwork in print outlets, the volume virtually ignores the electronic media, especially the Internet. Still, bucking convention and journalistic habit, this volume also offers up salutary nuggets of optimism, as well as ammunition for critics of status quo journalism. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In the age of O.J. and Monica, when certain celebrities get constant coverage and giant entertainment conglomerates covet news outlets, the journalist's mission to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted no longer applies. So says Serrin (journalism, New York Univ.), a former New York Times labor reporter, in his introduction to this book. Here, ten print journalists, all distinguished insiders, frankly discuss their dissatisfaction with the news. They consider the mainstream press's debased standards, its willingness to delve into private lives, the coziness between subject and reporter, conflicts of interest, and censorship. Today, freedom of the press, meant to protect democracy, protects business instead, and journalists, rather than challenging power, identify with it. What should we expect in a brand-named, theme-parked country? asks media critic John Leonard. Serrin writes that it took courage for the contributors to write these pieces; a number of other reporters and critics declined to participate. For all libraries.
-Raymond Bial, Parkland Coll. Lib., Champaign, IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The; 1ST edition (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565845811
• ISBN-13: 978-1565845817
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,370,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars some inspiring stories, November 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Business of Journalism: Ten Leading Reporters and Editors on the Perils and Pitfalls of the Press (Paperback)

This book contains some very inspiring stories about journalists who have fought to uphold the ideals of their profession in the face of corporatization, advertising, public outcry, etc. For those of you who like me still believe in journalism that's objective, or at least as objective as possible, this will help restore your faith. Read it from the journalists themselves who have won the battle, and some who have not. The first chapter, "We still scream" by two small-town journalists is especially inspiring.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is like Popeye the Sailor Man, January 11, 2002

By 

wildbill (Tacoma, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Business of Journalism: Ten Leading Reporters and Editors on the Perils and Pitfalls of the Press (Paperback)

It is what it is and that's all that it is.

But what it is is terrific!

You may purchase or borrow many books about biases in the news. However, most such books will be polemics that exude more bias than the medium or media that they attack.

This book, in contrast, does not pretend to find the one, great bias that is ruining the press. Rather, ten journalists provide their experiences in the increasingly commercialized business of news.

You may read about small weeklies and about Washington bureaus.

You may read about racial integration in the newsroom and why it has fallen short.

You may read about social, political, and commercial influences obvious and insidious that shape what you read, hear, and/or see, but -- more important -- that select what you cannot read, hear, and/or see. This book uncovers much that is uncovered or at least undercovered because the economic interests of the medium or media make such coverage baneful or suicidal.

Each essay is calm and reasoned, a welcome respite from charges of a "liberal press" or "corporate lapdogs." Each essayist builds on his or her personal experiences, so you read what genuine journalists rather than cunning politicos have seen and lived.

I enjoyed every page.