Rating: 
Summary: Great view of the journalism industry
Review: As a sportswriter for a major daily newspaper, this book is right on!
Rating:
Summary: Required reading: Hamill has the solutions
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Telling. Compelling. Insightful.
Review: Hamill's treatise on the future of journalism deals with newspapers, but the concepts apply to broadcast journalism as well.
In our homogenized,focus-grouped, overly-consulted world, it's easy to turn on a TV set in Anywhere, USA and see news presented by people who come from "Anyplace but this hometown."
There's no sense of history; no shared heritage of community. In our corporate/bigger is better world today, Mom and Pop pizzerias get replaced by Domino's. Corner diners give way to Mickey D's. Those funky little bookstores go under, losing business to Internet giants like Amazon.com. What? Oh, sorry..skip that last one!
And so those people who could uniquely chronicle a city's history are replaced by the journalistic nomads who are forced to roam the countryside because the corporate powers-that-be are unwilling to plow earnings back into a community. It all goes to the "Bottom Line."
Hamill's right on the money with his takes about the bean-counters, the megalo-egos and other idiots who have no business in the news business.
And, to his credit, upon surveying this vast wasteland, he offers some concrete solutions - not a visit with Dr. Kevorkian.
One of his most telling proposals; news editors live in the cities their organizations cover. True story; here in Western New York, I once worked for a News Director who called Appleton, Wisconsin home. He purposely bought a home some 30 miles OUTSIDE our city limits because "it reminded him of his home." Did it affect his arttitudes toward my city? Did it speak volumes of his misguided "world view?" You bet.
In exactly 100 pages, Hamill offers a roadmap back from the glitz of style, to the fulfillment of substance. This book should be required reading for any journalism student. It just might send them off on the right foot, before the bozos
get them hopeless lost.
Rating:
Summary: NEWSPAPERS, TAKE HEED
Review: I picked up a tabloid this morning. The headline again involved Kenneth Starr's intention of questioning Clinton directly on this Lewinsky business. That's fair enough. I open the front page, and right there, on page three, is a story about 'Seinfeld.' This tabloid deigned to put a story about a busted-up Mideast summit on page two. That's big news. But next in line is "news" about a sit-com? Come on. Pete Hamill speaks to these types of ludicrous problems besetting tabloids, all of which are done at their own hands. To make a buck, publishers speculate what the public wants, always insulting the reader's intelligence. Tabloids have become the National Enquirer with a little serious stuff on page forty-eight. Hamill writes eloquently and analytically, having seen these problems first-hand as the editor of The New York Post and The Daily News. He tried to do something about this: demanding good, tight writing from his reporters; reporting on the lives and the issues that affect the new immigrants, those who have inherited the mantle from the Irish, Jews and Italians. The people who have left their native lands for something better for themselves and their children. Most all of them come here knowing that as long as they work hard, their success is guaranteed. They are the new readership in the city. Newspapers must address their needs. If tabloids continue on their course, their fate is doomed. Publishers everywhere should be reading NEWS IS A VERB as the instructive treatise it is. It just might save them from themselves. KEVIN FARRELL
Rating: 
Summary: A great essay
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely essential!
Review: If you've ever thought of becoming a journalist, this book will inspire you. If you're already a journalist, this book will revive you.
Rating:
Summary: Eloquent, angry, provocative call for saving US newspapers
Review: Pete Hamill is one of the best and savviest newspapermen who ever drew breath, and this book is his eloquent, angry, provocative call for saving American newspapers from themselves and the bean-counting, self-important owners and managers who have no instinctive grasp for the news business. Hamill, former editor-in-chief of THE NEW YORK POST and THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, writes with energy and power, evoking the great days of the newspaper business without marinating himself or the reader in smarmy nostalgia. Reading Hamill's cogent formula for revitalizing American newspapers as they enter the twenty-first century, you want to believe that American journalism's best days can be ahead, rather than in the past. This book is a true instant classic and a public service of the highest order; Thomas Paine would have been proud, and Joseph Pulitzer would have been delighted. -- Richard B. Bernstein, Adjunct Professor of Law, New York Law School, and Daniel M. Lyons Visiting Professor in American History, Brooklyn College/CUNY (and I used to carry a press card).
Rating:
Summary: All news is local
Review: Pete Hamill is one of the last and finest of old-time journalists, a master of his craft who genuinely believed in the old adage that a newspaper's prime job was to "comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable." Today, the opposite is true. With the exception of a few papers, and no television stations, news is based on the idea "comfort the comfortable advertisers, afflict the welfare victims of society." It's called "press release journalism" and reflects the basic reason for the decline of many modern papers, the timidity and fear of editors who limit news coverage to people and events about which press releases are offered. Years ago, I worked beside a reporter who had a big "No guts, no glory" sign above his desk; it took awhile to realize the emphasis of the paper he worked for was "no guts" because any original work might upset powerful friends of the publisher. Readers know "a flawed watchdog is better than no dog at all;" but editors have muzzled the watchdog for fear someone will object to its bark. I've been an editor at various times from 1968 through 1996; on every occasion the paper gained circulation. Hamill talks about quality, which he doesn't define except to say "it is good stuff." My approach was to emphasize local news and provide commentary with a sharp edge -- scorched earth journalism, one fan called it -- recognizing that we couldn't obtain the kind of quality Hamill stresses. The secret of good commentary isn't excellence; it's readers who know they have the complete freedom to respond. In many cases, I gave them a prominence equal to my commentary. No one ever agreed with me all of the time, but everyone knew they had a right to reply and their response would not be trivialized. It's the most important element in establishing trust, the willingness to respect readers. Hamill is wonderful at analyzing the past; this is a man who loves newspapers, and is a superb observer of the human condition. His book "Why Sinatra Matters" is a slender classic that offers more insight and understanding of Sinatra and America than any of the mighty and lengthy biographies. He brings the same expertise and passion in his analysis of newspaper failures. This book offers dozens of examples of why papers are dull, dull, dull. Anyone who's disappointed in the quality of newspapers can sympathize with the faults Hamill outlines. For example, a recent local report of a major fire with damage in the millions of dollars failed to mention the name of the company or their product -- but, it had extensive interviews of bystanders who came to watch the fire. It's what passes for news; bystanders who think the flames were very impressive. In the modern newsroom, it's called ". . . the human touch." Give me a break. Tell me about the fire, and I'll add my own human touch. I don't need a newspaper telling me that bystanders are impressed by big flames. Give me local news and the right to talk back. That's precisely what Amazon.com does with reader reviews of books -- it gives ordinary people an uncensored forum. It's why Amazon.com is a success; and the opposite attitude is why newspapers are either static or declining. Hamill points out, "Newspapers emphasize drama and conflict at the expense of analysis." He's two thirds correct; people want facts, not conflict and drama. But, they want facts, not analysis which used to be rare and clearly identified. Readers are smart enough to make up their own minds, provided they get accurate information. What are facts? Briefly, the old reliable "Who, What, Where, When and How." This is a superb book for analyzing the faults of modern newspapers; but, it falls short on offering solutions. Hamill thinks the fault is centered on absentee owners who don't understand the newsroom; my experience says it is based on "press release" journalism which changed the "watchdog of the community" into a tame "little bark and no bite" puppy.
Rating:
Summary: All news is local
Review: Pete Hamill is one of the last and finest of old-time journalists, a master of his craft who genuinely believed in the old adage that a newspaper's prime job was to "comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable." Today, the opposite is true. With the exception of a few papers, and no television stations, news is based on the idea "comfort the comfortable advertisers, afflict the welfare victims of society." It's called "press release journalism" and reflects the basic reason for the decline of many modern papers, the timidity and fear of editors who limit news coverage to people and events about which press releases are offered. Years ago, I worked beside a reporter who had a big "No guts, no glory" sign above his desk; it took awhile to realize the emphasis of the paper he worked for was "no guts" because any original work might upset powerful friends of the publisher. Readers know "a flawed watchdog is better than no dog at all;" but editors have muzzled the watchdog for fear someone will object to its bark. I've been an editor at various times from 1968 through 1996; on every occasion the paper gained circulation. Hamill talks about quality, which he doesn't define except to say "it is good stuff." My approach was to emphasize local news and provide commentary with a sharp edge -- scorched earth journalism, one fan called it -- recognizing that we couldn't obtain the kind of quality Hamill stresses. The secret of good commentary isn't excellence; it's readers who know they have the complete freedom to respond. In many cases, I gave them a prominence equal to my commentary. No one ever agreed with me all of the time, but everyone knew they had a right to reply and their response would not be trivialized. It's the most important element in establishing trust, the willingness to respect readers. Hamill is wonderful at analyzing the past; this is a man who loves newspapers, and is a superb observer of the human condition. His book "Why Sinatra Matters" is a slender classic that offers more insight and understanding of Sinatra and America than any of the mighty and lengthy biographies. He brings the same expertise and passion in his analysis of newspaper failures. This book offers dozens of examples of why papers are dull, dull, dull. Anyone who's disappointed in the quality of newspapers can sympathize with the faults Hamill outlines. For example, a recent local report of a major fire with damage in the millions of dollars failed to mention the name of the company or their product -- but, it had extensive interviews of bystanders who came to watch the fire. It's what passes for news; bystanders who think the flames were very impressive. In the modern newsroom, it's called ". . . the human touch." Give me a break. Tell me about the fire, and I'll add my own human touch. I don't need a newspaper telling me that bystanders are impressed by big flames. Give me local news and the right to talk back. That's precisely what Amazon.com does with reader reviews of books -- it gives ordinary people an uncensored forum. It's why Amazon.com is a success; and the opposite attitude is why newspapers are either static or declining. Hamill points out, "Newspapers emphasize drama and conflict at the expense of analysis." He's two thirds correct; people want facts, not conflict and drama. But, they want facts, not analysis which used to be rare and clearly identified. Readers are smart enough to make up their own minds, provided they get accurate information. What are facts? Briefly, the old reliable "Who, What, Where, When and How." This is a superb book for analyzing the faults of modern newspapers; but, it falls short on offering solutions. Hamill thinks the fault is centered on absentee owners who don't understand the newsroom; my experience says it is based on "press release" journalism which changed the "watchdog of the community" into a tame "little bark and no bite" puppy.
Rating: 
Summary: Journalistic Narcissism
Review: Pete Hamill's problem of presentation is two fold in this extended essay on the current state of journalism. The first and more minor problem is that the tone he adopts (I don't know if this is his standard tone or if he just adopted it to sound more `reporterish' since it is the work I have read by him) seems to be loosely based on Dick Tracy. Not that this is exactly the type of book that a movie could really be made from but if there ever way such an adaptation it would have to be shot in black & white in an old time, smoke filled detective's office.
The second issue I have with Hamill, less stylistic and more substantiation in nature, is that he seems to of bought into all of the stuff that journalists tell themselves about there job. Yes, it is important that citizens be informed... no, reports are not god like creatures that have descended upon the mortal plain to bring us wisdom- like Prometheus bringing us the gift of fire. At one point he actual compares journalist to Homer's chronicles The Iliad and The Odyssey... I mean common! If you are already in a journalistic profession then none of this will bother you since no doubt you drank the kool-aid long ago but to someone like me who isn't it just gave the book an almost laughable feel like it was a brochure for a cult.
If you can get past those two rather large stumbling blocks then this book does actually have some good things to say about newspaper reporting's attempts to find it's place among cable news and the internet- personally though it was more a source of amusement for me than of any hard hitting insight.
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