Newspapers Books

This book wasn't what I expected it to be. I was slightly disappointed with it when I opened it and saw the diary style, small writing, I thought this is going to be really boring.
How wrong I was, I took it on vacation and started reading it and it was very good, I found myself reading it at every opportunity.
I am not a fan of Piers morgan but his Diary on life as a major Newspaper editor was excellent. It opened yours eyes on how Newspapers get their stories and headlines.
It was a book well done.
One little bit of advice though it is based mainly around British politics and celebrities

Piers Morgan comes over as an arrogant young man with an ego bigger than Ben Nevis. But that's undoubtedly one of the qualities you need to survive in the UK's tabloid wars. A compelling book, with some amazing inside stories of Britain's royals and politicians. How much Morgan actually wrote down in his diaries and how much came out of his fertile mind remains something of a mystery, In his days as editor of the Daily Mirror he never shirked from running spoof stories.

I have never used a directory that is as thorough, up-to-date and as easy to use as this one is. It has never let me down. The indexes are especially helpful and the categories are most useful. In my opinion, there is not any guide for writers that is better. I believe that it is the most complete and vast array of (as its title says)literary magazines and small presses available. It provides no only the basic information (name, address, etc.) but also information regarding specific requirements for submissions, including any that are unique to each publisher. The Regional and Subject Indexes are very helpful, saving a lot of search time. If you are interested in publishing in small presses, this resource is a must have.

Hundreds of markets for beginning writers to submit their mss. to. Needs to be on your shelf along with other reference books.

Lucille Kallen has a very light touch and never wonders too far from what she knows in Introducing C. B. Greenfield. The mystery is never very threatening or suspenseful (or, for that matter, mysterious) and it relies far too heavily on coincidence for its momentum. But is it still a joyful read if only for listening to the narrator Maggie's inner voice and her boss', C.B. Greenfield, outer one. The author uses her skills learned in writing comedy sketches for television to keep the slight story moving in a gentle, humourous fashion that may appeal more to readers of domestic comedies of an earlier generation (think Shirley Jackson's Raising Demons) than mystery readers. A little joy.

Good writing is good writing is good writing -- wherever one finds it. Even if you're not a fan of mysteries, if you love witty and excellent writing, as well as unforgettable characters and clever plots, you won't regret reading this book. If you remember "Your Show of Shows" from television's golden age, you'll understand the high praise for this book, because the author was one of the writers of that masterpiece of wit and erudition -- the only woman so honored.

Maggie Rome is a woman that other women will enjoy reading about: she has a husband, two sons, a dog, a career, and occasionally fibs about her age--but only by three years. She is perceptive, a good cook, although a somewhat recalcitrant housekeeper, an amateur pianist of some capability, and the star reporter of the Sloan's Ford Reporter. The C. B. Greenfield of the title is the owner and publisher of the weekly paper in upstate New York, a cellist and music lover, and a man whose way with words and love of puzzles exasperates Maggie almost beyond bearing. Sometimes.

This is the first of five stories about Maggie and C.B.,--I'd already read one of the others--and have every intention of reading the others. In fact, I intend to search out all the books and add them to my collection; I need them handy to re-read when I need a pick-me-up. I wish that one of the publishers of mystery stories would bring them out again in new editions. Unfortunately, it would be too late for the author, whose pen was stilled in January 1999. We're all diminished by her passing.

The publication of this book could hardly be more timely, considering the rapid changes that the newspaper industry is undergoing. The author, former Daily Cardinal editor Allison Hantschel, was part of the crew of diehards that yanked the Cardinal back from financial ruin during a seven-month shutdown in 1995, so she's certainly suited to the task of unearthing the paper's illustrious past. With many interviews and much archival material, this history of the paper's 115 years reads not as a plodding chronology but more like a roller coaster, with each decade featuring its own fight for the paper's existence.

Founded in 1892 by a student miffed at the university's lack of a journalism curriculum, the Cardinal began with the twin engines that would power it through the 20th century: financial and editorial independence from the university, plus a completely student-run, come-one-come-all workplace that had (and still has) staffers teaching each other in a real-life newsroom.

While this open structure afforded the paper the freedom to print whatever it wished, it also left it vulnerable to interlopers who got elected to the Cardinal board and began firing editors. Hantschel gives remarkably even-handed treatment to the nefarious forces that wished to see the paper muzzled, if not shut down, whether they are upstate legislators, anti-Semitic frat boys or those outraged at the paper's defenses of "free love."

While this is clearly a tale told with passion, Hantschel doesn't paper over the Cardinal's endemic snottiness. Many an alum marvels at how a bunch of arrogant kids could make such a ruckus (and a profit) with no "adult" supervision. Self-righteous hell-raisers, to be sure -- but with deadlines.

No doubt the Cardinal's hardest punches were delivered by a series of Vietnam-era articles written by Jim Rowen, who uncovered the UW's complicity in military projects at its Army Math Research Center. Despite Rowen's denials, these stories played a part in the infamous bombing of Sterling Hall (two of the four accused bombers were Cardinal staffers) and the killing of a young physicist. Hantschel captures these fevered times quite well, and documents the paper's radicalism, which lingered for a decade more.

While nothing could top that story in terms of sociopolitical drama, I wish Hantschel had brought forth more examples of the Cardinal's other journalistic triumphs and peppered them throughout the book instead of rolling out a few in a chapter near the end. Nevertheless, as a former Cardinal editor myself, I expected this history to be a manifesto. Instead, it's a clear-eyed story of a scrappy little paper that not only changed the UW, but shaped college journalism itself.

I've been fortunate enough to read this at various stages and it only got better each time I read it. And it was amazingly fantastic to begin with. The finished product is a historical narrative of the Daily Cardinal, the University of Wisconsin's 116-year-old student newspaper, with Hantschel walking the reader through the ups and downs of the paper from 1892 to present. However, it's so much more than that. The author gives you personal stories of young people who were finding themselves and shaping a campus simultaneously through their days and nights at this incredible institution. The interviews and archival material helps provide the basis for the work, but the book reads so much more like a work of passion than a history book. Anyone who reads this, even those who've never heard of the Daily Cardinal, can understand why this place means so much to so many people. This is a book 116 years in the making and we owe Hantschel a debt of thanks for her Herculean efforts to bring it to us.

Journalistic memoirs of C. L. Sulzberger. The author writes of events that happened between 1934-1954, things that happened all over the world. During the years covered here he organized and ran The New York Times Foreign Service, establishing uninterrupted news coverage of every single major area. He witnessed WWII, and the division of power between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., the East-West division of Germany, the growing involvement of America in Indochina, plus dozens of other globally important happenings. He was on intimate terms with kings, statesmen, diplomats, generals, and presidents. Many rarely interviewed people...Churchill, de Gaulle, Tito, Franco, Eisenhower, and scores of others...talked with him frankly and at length on repeated occasions. He was privy to many inside stories which he now tells

this is one of the most engrossing books I have read in a long time. Cy takes us on a whirlwind tour of the Balkins before and during WWII. Cy graduated from Harvard in 1934 and went to Europe. He picked up odd writing jobs but in 1939 he went into the Balkins to be the only American covering that part of the world. He was privy to information that was not released to the rest of the works and was finally coerced into being the foreign corrospondent for the Times. His insight into the people and the times are so candid that he frequently wound up in more trouble than a prisoner of war. He bought a terrier, Felix, in 1939 and detailed its exploits until its death in 1942. His future wife wrote from Athens Greece during the Nazi occupation, "it is a good think you did not leave Felix with us. He would have starved to death." More likely he would have been eaten.

Cy tells of his interviews with Tito, Churchill and his futile efforts to interview Stalin. This is a must read book.

This is a good primer with a short introduction on the early days of magazines up through today and, perhaps, the future.

Leonard Mogel shows us how magazine publishers have adapted to the times and how they thrive more today than in during the Golden Years.

This book is not as helpful as others in starting a new periodical, but it is more helful for the college student wanting to enter the field for a living.

A definite must have for people wanting to understand magazine trends.

I've read this book cover-to-cover twice. Once to get an overview, and once to commit to memory so many of the useful tidbits and statistical studies.

Then, I also re-read each of the interviews and sidebars to gain an understanding of how others have dealt with the various issues.

Chapters 5 through 9 will be of benefit to first-year journalism students in understanding magazine organization and lines of authority.

I found, however, the greatest benefit for me came from chapters 14 and 15, Starting A New Magazine, part I and part II.

Also, Establishing A Circulation Base and Magazine Promotion, chapters 10 and 11, explain the process without getting overly technical. Actually, I found the explanation of the various markets and methods of achieving magazine sales to be the best concise treatment I have yet found.

If you are a journalism student getting prepared for entering employment in magazines, or are an experienced writer wanting to start your own magazine, this book will be a valuable asset that you will read again and again.

If you are an investor considering funding a new magazine this is a MUST buy, MUST read book.

I came across this book in a Bethesda library in the early 90s and still think of the story. It is a fascinating tale that shows how vision, ego, and ambition come together to develop a product unlike any before it. It is a story about the man behind the product and how he perservered. I enjoyed this book in the same way that I enjoyed The New New Thing about Jim Clark. I've recently bought my first house and have decided to go back and purchase books for my library that stand out in my mind as influential in the way I've looked at business and decisions I've made. I'll have this one on the shelf by the end of the month.

"The Making of McPaper" is a well-written, all-encompassing history of USA Today - and the only extensive work I've been able to find on the paper. Written by a former editor, it is not just propaganda; praise and criticism both are included. (Of course, USA Today wins in the end.) It is a quick read for those interested in the business of journalism and the journalism business. Also read "Confessions of an SOB" by Al Neuharth for his take on the paper's start-up.

This is a biography as much of a media empire as it is of a man. While Maier spends as much time as he can on the private side of S.I. Newhouse Jr., he in the end focus on what is most seen of this most private of media moguls-- his media properties.

Maier uses the device of choosing figures and brands important to Newhouse history (Roy Cohn, Random House, Tina Brown, the New Yorker) and spending a chapter on each one, tracing their history in relation to both Newhouse and Advance Publications. While a good device for giving a thorough overview, be warned that it does make for a slightly disconnected read. I found that I had to flip back through the chapters to remember how events relating to particular chapters related to each other in time.

Nonetheless, one of the more complete media biographies you are likely to encounter and a must read if interested in magazine history.

The book shows how American media are controlled by a single family company. It owns many of the famous and influential publishing companies, magazines, and newspapers. It is a very dangerous situation that American media are under control by the handful people. As a matter of fact, the author mentioned in the paperback edition that the Newhouse company banned any mention of this book in their publications. The book, which won the 1995 "best media book" prize, seems to be neglected, but this is a very important book that more people should read. A sole purpose of media isn't a simple means of entertainment for people, and isn't mere profit organizations for the owner either. Media have the responsibility to execute the social role, and its fair execution is questionable under such a monopoly situation. The author proposes not-for-profit newspapers, and I believe it is time to consider to go back to such a fundamental point. Through various incidents the Newhouse company have initiated, the book leads us to consider what media mean to us. It is a very good book to think what true journalism means to us.

The Newspaper Boy is the story of a young Irish boy who triumphs through sheer determination and application of will to intellect. He rises to the level of his potential, becoming a suscessful attorney in pre-WWI New York City. The setting is a working class Irish neighborhood on New York City's Lower East side. We meet Eric as a young teenager who, while immensely proud of his Irish roots and family, pursues the dream of success in America. He does not feel his ancestry is antithetical or exclusive to success, or vice-versa. In fact, the story describes his melding of the two. We follow him from his first job as a newspaper boy, through success at high school, heroism in combat, and into the vaunted halls of the Ivy League, rubbing shoulders with the denizens of American society. Although he chases the success that his willpower pushes him to, he never forgets his roots, especially not in a society that seems unwilling to allow him to do so. Eric's ties to his family are solidified by his brother, Pat, and his first love, Kay. Pat has simultaneously adopted and rejected the philosphy of their father, acknowledging the necessity of hard work, but eschewing it nonetheless for an easier but riskier life at the law's edge.

The Newspaper Boy originally appeard as a short story in a collection of writings by the author, to be re-released as a book in its own right. The author has clearly devoted a lot of time to humanzing the people he describes, without over-simplifying or lionizing them. The reader is never unaware that Eric bears the pride of his people, but he instinctively knows that he must understand the world he wishes to join in order to successfully navigate within it. The author delivers Eric's story in a matter-of-fact style that makes his integrity the main character. Although the book is a novel unto itself, it is clearly written with a varied audience in mind. The writing is clear and striaghtforward, but rests on the lushness of the author's description. I found the book's pacing to be consistent, with interruptions only where detail was needed. The book keeps its focus on Eric, and those in his life, but in doing so draws a rich tapestry of turn of the century life in New York for a young Irish man.

It is clear that the author has drawn on a number of historical sources to describe a slice of Americana. Although the book focuses on Eric's transformation into a "bona fide American", Eric is never derisive to his own heritage. The author clearly enjoys his subject, and introduces the reader to history that may only be known only to those a part of it. He showcases the contributions of the Irish community to New York City at large, and eventually WWI. He also reveals the depths of anti-Irish sentiment that permeated the city. It is with a professor's eye that he describes the setting for his novel, but communicates it in an easily understandable and enjoyable format. Although I had initially assumed this to be a book for young adults, I found the book easily lends itself to an older and broader audience. As a student of History myself, the book references bits of history in the form of "teasers", which inevitably lead the reader to want to know more and investigate, and in so doing, continue the reading-learning circle.
Reviewed By: Angela Hailey, Black Butterfly Review

The Newspaper Boy by Leon Newton takes a hard look at bigotry and its consequences through the eyes of a young Irish lad growing up in New York's Lower East Side during the early part of the last century.

The story unfolds as we we learn about the poverty of the O'Connor family, the wayward behavior of one of their sons, Pat, and the tragic auto accident that took the life of their youngest daughter, Moira. We are also exposed to blatant anti-Irish feeling, wherein no matter how hard you try, you are never been accepted socially or professionally by some of your peers and the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant establishment.

The youngest O'Connor son and the novel's principal protagonist, Eric, feels compelled to fight against this bigotry and to gain acceptance into mainstream America. Fortunately for young Eric, he is befriended by a Jewish gentleman, Ira Goldstein, who agrees to finance part of Eric's university studies. When Eric asks how he can repay Goldstein, the latter replies that he already has, as he saved his life. Apparently, Eric walked into Goldstein's jewelery store at the most opportune moment while it was being robbed, thus causing the criminals to flee before they had a chance to kill Goldstein.

However, Eric realizes that even attaining a law degree with outstanding grades from Harvard does not guaranty him a position with a prestigious law firm. The familiar Jews, Black and Irish need not apply signals are blatantly present. In the meantime, Eric marries into wealth and to a member of the very society that continually rejects him.

In a way, Newton challenges his readers to think intelligently about bigotry, class and racial prejudices. However, due to the brevity of the novel, these themes, unfortunately, are not fully developed and only surface now and then. Moreover, the novel would have benefited and the message would have been more effective, if there was the injection of a more profound dramatization of these issues and the immersing of the reader in the world of the story.

It is quite interesting to learn that according to the author, whom I interviewed, there had been feedback questioning him as to how he, an African-American, had the audacity to write about the Irish. Newton had further been asked as to why a Jewish gentleman sponsored Eric. No doubt, prejudices are still very much alive and kicking in today's so-called modern world!

Another downside of this novel is that it is marred with its lack of editing and proof reading. Moreover, many of the supporting characters slide into abstraction such as Eric's first love, Kay and his brother Pat, both of whom do play important parts in the story. There are also some incorrect historical facts, wherein the stock market crash is placed in the year 1928, when in fact it was in 1929, and reference to Hello Dolly, that in fact only acquired the name in 1964, although there were many forerunners to the play.

However, notwithstanding these flaws, the novel still merits reading, as it sheds light on the issue of bigotry, class consciousness, and racism that was not only targeted against Jews and African-Americans, but also the Irish during the early part of the twentieth century. Another plus is that it did entice me to keep on reading to find out what the hell happens next! Newton is a good storyteller.

Norm Goldman, Editor Bookpleasures

Having studied the history of attitudes toward death, mourning, funerals, and the rules and etiquette that were ever changing in Great Britain and America over the past two centuries for 20 years, I always wanted to look into obituaries as well. This book is a great place to start, discussing the very changes I'd always wondered about. A fun read, too!

This book takes a look at obituaries over time in American culture. It's an interesting look at a piece of human life that often falls by the wayside. Over time our memories and conceptions concerning death, the way our lives have been led and those we have lost change. A great longitudinal study for those interested in public memory.