Margaret Sullivan (1)

Full disclosure: I worked with Margaret Sullivan at The Buffalo News. We were hired as interns in the same summer. Years later, she would become editor. I would end up in City Hall. “Newsroom Confidential” casts an enlightening and alarming spotlight on the state of journalism. The fact that I scrawled several pages of notes as I was reading the book speaks volumes about its value. I intend to discuss some of the timely issues with students in my college journalism classes. As an avid reader of Sullivan’s works in the Washington Post and New York Times, many of her themes and viewpoints were not new to me. This isn’t a criticism of the book; it’s a reflection of my steady reading diet of all-things-journalism. The meticulously researched book shares insights on “objectivity,” “fake news,” social media algorithms, media literacy and dozens of other weighty issues. Sullivan goes beyond identifying the problems that face journalism. She proposes some key reforms. She also shares many lively anecdotes about her impressive career. Still, readers who expect dicey or spicy nuggets given the book's title might be disappointed. “Newsroom Confidential” is not even remotely close to a sensational, “tell-all” autobiography. But this clearly wasn’t Sullivan’s intent. Her latest book is an important examination of the state of journalism – and it couldn’t have been published at more opportune time.… (meer)

I'm disappointed that this book by a journalist who truly stands for truth, justice, and the (real) American way seemed so...flat. Her career, from intern to editor to public editor, was covered well and somewhat interesting. Her calling out of major newspapers to stop treating lies as "just the other side" was fairly strong. Her personal encounters with Woodward and Bernstein were gems. But since I was a wannabee newspaper writer, I thought her story and her perspective would be more inspiring, but it just felt...okay. Her heart and pen are in the "write" place, but there was no sense of excitement for me in this read.… (meer)