Scotty: James B. Reston and the Rise and Fall of American Journalism [Hardcover]

John F. Stacks (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0316809853 | ISBN-13: 978-0316809856 | Publication Date: December 5, 2002 | Edition: 1st

James "Scotty" Reston was a reporter of amazing skill, a writer of easy and graceful prose, a shaper of public opinion, and a man who almost single-handedly revolutionized American journalism. The son of Scottish immigrants, his hustle and smarts eventually made him the single most important and influential columnist in America. Along the way he helped make "The New York Times" the greatest paper in the world. He was the first person presidents turned to when they wanted to confide, and the person they called late at night when something went wrong.

Reston is, along with the "Washington Post's" Ben Bradlee, a towering figure of American newspapers in the 20th century. Only John Stacks could have captured Reston so well-both in his glory and in his downfall. But SCOTTY is more than just the amazing story of an amazing man. Because Reston was so powerful and such a dominant force in Washington, the book is also a history of American politics since World War II-indeed, a secret history, a tale of what went on behind closed doors, of the stories that shaped our world and the stories that never made the papers.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Those of us in the journalism racket consume almost any book about our peers, but the really good ones speak beyond this inside audience to comment on the role the media plays in American society, and this ambitious biography of The New York Times celebrated Washington correspondent of the '60s does just that. James "Scotty" Reston was a shrewd and canny reporter of the old school (he always did the necessary legwork) with a skill for writing clear, direct, and sometimes poetic prose that struck directly at the heart of the matter. (As early as August 1965, he presciently wrote of Vietnam: "We could win the war and lose the people, and that would be the final irony of the story.") His diligence was rewarded with the sort of unfettered access to presidents and other top policymakers that is unthinkable today. The book opens with a vignette in which President Kennedy unburdens himself in incredibly frank language about his frightening meeting with Khrushchev in Vienna in 1961. (Kennedy talked to Reston minutes after the session ended, before he'd even briefed any of his top aides and advisors.)

For Stacks, a veteran reporter for Time magazine, the loss of this sort of access in favor of the relentless spin machine that dominates today is nothing less than a tragedy, but he isn't completely dewy-eyed about the past or his subject. In classic corporate fashion, Reston was promoted to his level of incompetence. He was a great reporter, but a lousy editor and later-day columnist, and he finally allowed his proximity to power to cloud his vision in the mid-'70s, when he essentially became a willing mouthpiece for the Machiavellian Henry Kissinger. In addition to tracking a fascinating story and offering a unique perspective on familiar historical events, Scotty is a worthy read for illustrating just how difficult it is to maintain the "outsider" stance necessary for good journalism--and just how much this country needs it. --Jim DeRogatis

From Publishers Weekly

James "Scotty" Reston ranks among the most important print journalists of the 20th century. During his 59 years of work as a reporter, bureau chief, editor, columnist and newspaper executive, he won two Pulitzers, helped build and shape the New York Times and served as a mentor to two generations of American journalists. He wrote six books, including a memoir, Deadline, four years before he died in 1995, and many thousands of news stories and columns. This fawning biography covers much of the same territory as Deadline, adding Stacks's diligent research. The author, a reporter for Time magazine, interviewed Reston's surviving colleagues and relatives and obtained the notes to a 1960 Time cover story on Reston. It's a tribute to Reston's skill and candor that Stacks's additional work turns up only mild discrepancies, such as Deadline's claim that Chen Yi, not Joseph Ku, provided Reston with the Dumbarton Oaks papers that led to his first Pulitzer. Although this book's subtitle implies tragedy, and the galley copy promises surprising scandal ("a secret history, a tale of what went on behind closed doors"), the book delivers neither. Still, this is a straightforward biography, well researched and competently written. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (December 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316809853
• ISBN-13: 978-0316809856
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,424,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging Account of How Political Reporting Changed, January 12, 2003

By 

Steve Iaco (northern new jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Scotty: James B. Reston and the Rise and Fall of American Journalism (Hardcover)

This is an engaging biography about the foremost political journalist of his era. More than that, "Scotty" is a revealing chronicle of the transformation of journalism. Scotty Reston embodied the old school, "establishment" journalism of the pre-Vietnam/Watergate variety. His success was founded on incomparable access, born of a mutually trusting relationship with Washington movers and shakers. When Pres. Kennedy emerged from a verbal going-over from Krushchev at the Vienna summit, the first person he spoke with -- and bared his soul to -- was Scotty Reston, who, Kennedy knew, would be extremely judicious in reporting what he learned. Journalists like Reston were natural skeptics, but believed in the essential truth of what government officials told them. White House entreaties persuaded Reston and his colleagues to hold a news-story exposing the planned Bay of Pigs invasion a few days before it was launched. It's hard to imagine journalists today making the same decision.

Vietnam and Watergate opened up a wide chasm between journalists and Washington insiders. Natural skepticism hardened into cynicism and the investigative journalism ethos was born. Reston -- despite his many well-earned laurels and impeccable reputation -- failed to keep up. Vacationing at the time on Martha's Vineyard, Reston was the first New York Times reporter to file a report on the Ted Kennedy Chappaquiddick fiasco. His lead: "Tragedy has again struck the Kennedy family." Mary Jo Kopechne was not mentioned until the fourth paragraph. Reston saw the event through the prism of its impact on the powerful, and ultimately dismissed the episode as a one-day story. It took another younger, more aggressive Times reporter to uncover the truth of the tragedy, and Kennedy's reprehensible conduct that night. Similarly, his too-cozy relationship with Henry Kissinger blinded Reston to the truth about Kissinger's role in the 1972 Christmas bombing of North Vietnam.

I do not mean to be negative about Reston. He was clearly the most accomplished journalist of his (or perhaps any) era, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner whose superb reporting routinely broke major news-stories. As broadcast media multiplied, Reston also pioneered a new role for print journalism: explaining why events occurred, not merely reporting what happened. But so much of this book is focused on what the subtitle calls "the rise and fall of American journalism."

Readers will also be fascinated by the internecine warfare between New York and the Washington bureau, and especially, the titanic power struggles between Reston and Abe Rosenthal, which resulted in Reston's abbreviated, 13-month reign as Executive Editor. Also notable is the long line of legendary names that Reston mentored -- Halberstam, Wicker, Anthony Lewis, Max Frankel, etc.

"Scotty" is a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in the intersection of journalism and politics.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Told by a Reporter' Reporter, November 23, 2002

By 

Kim I. Eisler (Bethesda, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scotty: James B. Reston and the Rise and Fall of American Journalism (Hardcover)

As author John Stacks has long been one of my personal heroes, I was delighted to discover this marvelously told biography. For all those who finished Gay Talese's The Kingdom and the Power and wanted more-and who didn't-Scotty is the perfect tonic. As most biographies written by real journalists, instead of officious professors or other biographical dilitantes-and there are plenty of retired stock brokers out there pretenging to be writers-the power of this book is in the feel for anecdotes, the natural flow of the story and the strong simple prose. Best of all is the first few pages where Stacks sums up the reporting profession in a way not seen since Thomas Wolfe's description of the pack outside of a fire in "You Can't Go Home Again." Those few pages alone are worth double the modest purchase price. Most delightfully, I discovered in print, something Mr. Stacks had told me years ago, when as young wannabe reporter I stumbled into his office to seek his sage counsel. He told he then that for every page I wrote, I should read 100. That stuck in my memory and became something I have repeated hundreds of times, sometimes with credit to Stacks, sometimes without. Imagine my excitement at finding those very words of advice in this book. An excellent three day read.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Farewell To A Journalistic Relic Before TV Mammal Babbles!, February 21, 2003

By 

Joseph J. Janos III (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scotty: James B. Reston and the Rise and Fall of American Journalism (Hardcover)

"Scotty," is a tremendous book worthy of your purchase and time to read with interesting tidbits to understand the Gilded Age of American Journalism has it passes from American existence.

I was intrigued how the author was brave enough to tell us the truth about the rise and fall of journalism, and how they evolved and have since devolved when the new Dinosaur media took over and is now being replaced by Internet Instant Posters.

A wise old man told me sometime ago about Newspaper Men of his day. He said prior to the 1930's most reporters were pencil pushers hanging out at bars looking for a free drink in return for making up a story. Men of substance at that time whether they would be labor leaders, corporate builders, college football coaches, police chiefs or men who ran bookie joints often used them for the purpose to advance a selfish cause by giving out information or misinformation. One reason why newspaper men at that time were often called "root weevils" a mammal born blind and carrying the stink of his mother to keep predators away as they grow in the dirt of tunnels in the ground.

However, John Stacks uses the rise of Scotty Reston being one of the first to change both the caliber and perception of journalists. The author clearly makes a convincing case how Scotty Reston was heads above his peers and set higher standards in the White House Press Corp. He tells us, Scotty was not content with stories, but actually went out and enjoyed endearing himself to all people in government. This kind of hard work ended up with him reporting the entire account with accuracy changing the days of regurgitated governmental standard press releases.

Overtime, he gained the confidence of all people due to his in depth analysis of asking good questions that were clearly intended to make everyone think of what they were saying let alone policies the people in power were passing. Mr. Reston could often promote or kill a policy or practice with his exquisite research, dependable veritable contacts and precise reporting. As a result, News organizations started to hire more reporters with the caliber of Scotty Reston and the Gilded Age of American Journalism was born to change the world. Sadly, then came the "Age of Award Winning News Readers" on Radio and Television calling themselves journalists.

Where American journalism went wrong was calling the rise of Radio & Television News Readers bestowing the term of "Award Winning Journalists," on themselves. They were given such awards from their own regional tiny industry at small-arranged parties. Overtime, it was learned that if you want to sell manure in Nebraska, advertise it. So "Award Winning Journalists," were made up in seconds instead of taking the time to acquire the skills of true journalists approximating Scotty Reston.

Today, you see the result of such conversions of making "News Readers," (A Term Still Used In Europe), hired for how they look more often than any proficiency of real journalists. And in Radio, too often they are too fat, bald, frumpy and dumpy to be seen on TV, save for having nice voices that do not stutter. Excluding in depth investigations for a three-minute deadline to say it fast over getting it right, and if a good question is asked they get hang up, but they still call themselves journalists today?

Subsequently, the steady ability of what Scotty Reston created with hard work and checking thoroughly the whole story has been replaced with "Award Winning", Radio and TV "News Readers." These Media Icons now put out any story first without checking the particulars. Being on Television and seeking a million dollar contract and a star on their head is more important now? Consequently, TV & Radio News Readers replaced the more competent genuine journalists who did not have the looks to be on TV every day.

Nowadays, you can see them at National Press Club lifting a beer or toasting Zinfandel as they decide what they will report on TV for 15 seconds on a politician, proposed law or shocking scandal. The Dan Rather caliber of journalism took over, a Hurricane Reporter chosen for chatting in the rain. Soon using taunts with political leaders making themselves the story instead doing their jobs to report the story became the babble and norm we see today!

In Russia and Europe, strippers are now hired to strip on TV as they read the news! This is so News Broadcasts can try and hold onto ratings. In America, stories today are 60-second advertisements for shows later shown on TV for entertainment, but they still call themselves "Award Winning Journalists?"

As the book points out, the Gilded Age of American Journalism is gone as Scotty Reston passed away with a Dan Rather 60 second salute on Television. Fortunately, this book shows us in great length the skills and knowledge required to become a true "Award Winning Journalists," by revealing the life of Scotty Reston. And I know Scotty would prefer it no other way!

A first-rate Hardback written by a great journalist in John Stacks to honor his colleague by seeking the truth in the story of Scotty Reston life, innovations, mistakes and glory and not rushing it to print so he could have his name on Television at News at 11 by a local "Award Winning Journalists?"