News Is a Verb (Library of Contemporary Thought) [Paperback]

Pete Hamill (Author)

Book Description

Series: Library of Contemporary Thought | Publication Date: April 20, 1998

LIBRARY OF CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT
"When screaming headlines turn out to be based on stories that don't support them, the tale of the boy who cried wolf gets new life. When the newspaper is filled with stupid features about celebrities at the expense of hard news, the reader feels patronized. In the process, the critical relationship of reader to newspaper is slowly undermined."
--from NEWS IS A VERB

NEWS IS A VERB
Journalism at the End of the Twentieth Century

"With the usual honorable exceptions, newspapers are getting dumber. They are increasingly filled with sensation, rumor, press-agent flackery, and bloated trivialities at the expense of significant facts. The Lewinsky affair was just a magnified version of what has been going on for some time. Newspapers emphasize drama and conflict at the expense of analysis. They cover celebrities as if reporters were a bunch of waifs with their noses pressed enviously to the windows of the rich and famous. They are parochial, square, enslaved to the conventional pieties. The worst are becoming brainless printed junk food. All across the country, in large cities and small, even the better newspapers are predictable and boring. I once heard a movie director say of a certain screenwriter: 'He aspired to mediocrity, and he succeeded.' Many newspapers are succeeding in the same way."                        

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Pete Hamill's fed up with the decline in quality of America's newspapers, and he's got a solution. News Is a Verb calls upon editors to focus on accuracy, leaving the "instant" reportage to TV shows. He also stresses the need for local papers to pay attention to the issues that affect their communities, as well as the importance of reaching out to women readers and the new wave of immigrants looking for ways to assimilate American culture.

As a lifelong newspaperman, Hamill is dedicated to the idea that if something didn't happen, it isn't news. Artificial celebrities such as Donald Trump should not be given valuable column inches simply because they exist; likewise, important figures such as Bill Clinton should not be reduced to gossip fodder. Unsubstantiated rumors, he makes plain, are not newsworthy. Anybody who cares about the state of contemporary journalism will find much to appreciate in Pete Hamill's straightforward appraisal.

From School Library Journal

YA?A veteran journalist takes a look at the state of the modern press in this insightful and highly personal essay. News is not about the craft of newspaper writing, but rather the crafting of today's papers. Hamill's thesis is that fatuous, celebrity-centered journalism is dumbing down America's newspapers, patronizing readers, and undermining the press's credibility. The author's ideas for correcting these problems and strengthening other aspects of the modern newspaper will interest YAs who are considering a career in journalism. Students of current events will also find intelligent analysis of a chain of issues that effect movie grosses and political races alike: Is the media's attention to half-truth, scandal, and celebrity due to wrongheaded editorial decisions or to an accurate understanding of the public's appetite for drivel? If a sports announcer's personal oddities are given A-1 coverage while stories of global importance are relegated to the back pages, will the end result be successful newspaper sales or a nation disinterested in issues central to its own survival? Hamill considers these issues and concludes that publishers must not succumb to "giving people what they want," but rather must make a commitment to quality of content. YAs will be inspired by his outspoken love of journalism, his conversational and candid style, and his thought-provoking discussion of many of today's hot topics.?Pamela Cooper-Smuzynski, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (April 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345425286
• ISBN-13: 978-0345425287
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.2 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #914,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pete Hamill is a novelist, journalist, editor, and screenwriter. He is the author of 15 previous books including the bestselling novels Snow in August and Forever and the bestselling memoir A Drinking Life. He writes a column for the New York Daily News and lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading: Hamill has the solutions, February 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: News Is a Verb (Library of Contemporary Thought) (Paperback)

Buy this book for all the journalists you know and love -- and don't forget the publishers. Veteran New York newsman Pete Hamill has the solutions to so many of the problems plaguing modern newspapers: sliding standards of accuracy, the blurring of the line between news and entertainment, stagnant circulations in the midst of population growth. It will inspire those who want to be journalists and remind the veterans why they fell in love with news in the first place. NEWS IS A VERB should be required reading in every newsroom and journalism school.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great essay, February 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: News Is a Verb (Library of Contemporary Thought) (Paperback)

I picked up the book partly because I admire Hamill's writing and partly because I had just been griping about our local newspaper. The book was great. It articulated many of my own criticisms about the press -- the adoration of celebrity, the lack of accuracy, the re-hashing of somebody's press release.

Hamill is a great writer. He conveys his thoughts in a stimulating yet simple, straightforward manner. He has the talent to "tell it to the Sweeneys" without sacrificing depth.

He reverently tells about the great history of newspapers. Sometimes, this dips to a form of romanticism which detracts from his message. He is best when he sets forth goals for the industry and avoids the rosy-dream context.

I was a bit disappointed that Hamill omitted commenting upon the decline in grammar and spelling in the newspapers. [I found a typographical error in the text.]

The book is a must for newspaper folks and all of us shake our heads over the morning edition.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading, June 21, 1999

By 

Jonathan Robinson - See all my reviews

This review is from: News Is a Verb (Library of Contemporary Thought) (Paperback)

This book reminds me why I want to be a journalist. I have read and re-read News Is a Verb and each time it never fails to excite and inspire me. Mr. Hamill's notions of the purpose of a newspaper and ideas about how to effectively cover a city are inspirational. In addition, News Is a Verb has greatly improved my impression of tabloid papers -- a genre which I previously scorned, and was sometimes wrong to do so. My only criticism of Mr. Hamill is that he does occasionally appear bitter over the several misfortunes of his career, despite his disclaimer to the contrary. In particular, his personal attack on Donald Trump, though perhaps understandable, is a little over-exuberant. He loses a little credibility here, I think. His distrust of newspaper publishers is probably well-founded. That one caveat aside, this is a fabulous book and deserves attention from anyone interested in the field of journalism.