Customer Reviews (3)

self-serving but fascinating
This was a very strange book to read. Here is an writer, an eyewitness to some of the most interesting and dangerous moments in recent history. Yet he seems to have had little time to reflect on what he has experienced, so pressured has he been to get the film in and on air, to say someting quick and marketable. There is no doubt about this man's courage, his credentials as a journalist, or NBC's incompetent attempts to destroy him.(It makes one never to want to watch anything on NBC or buy anything from its owner GE) But for a man who has been through so much I fear that much of what he has to say has not been digested. He appears still very much wounded by his own sucessful lawsuit and the betrayal of an organization that he risked his life for. Yet as much as I want to admire the man, there is something dishonest about this book. I do not dispute the facts, but the book presentation sounds more like a public relations effort to recusitate his career- or a recapitulation of the notes he gathered for the trial. In every chapter there is the constant effort to prove to the reader how brave he and his friends are, how stupid and deceitful are his enemies. Everything is black and white, almost nothing new or interesting or thoughtful in between. I think in the years to come we may read something far better from Kent. Kent an interesting new kind of man-a product of the news business. I would say that anyone in the news media or even thinking about it -or anyone who draws his primary information about the world from the networks -should definitely read this book for its strengths as well as its weaknesses.(One will never watch TV news again with the same trust.) But as an insightful discussion of current events or autobiography, be forwarned.

If you hate sensationalized news, you will love this book!
I read this book expecting Arthur Kent to be arrogant but what I found was a dedicated journalist. Kent never wavered from his ethical standards. He took the giants at NBC to task for their disregard for him and others who believe that news should be reported with honesty and integrity--not for the corporate bottom line. His story is highly readable with the people he met in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and Tiananmen Square coming to life (and death) through Kent's compelling stories. When he files a lawsuit against the corporate giants, you too will be on his side. Kent deserved every cent he got. We should all put pressure on the media to give us worldwide news coverage presented by men and women who serve to provide us with the facts--not the sensation-packed news we see today. Marie Wilson (mwilson@kapla.com), Fountain Hills, Arizon

Warning - this book may induce thinking!
Arthur Kent takes you on his compelling journey as a foreign news correspondent.His story is told with candor and self-effacing humor.Going from the treetops of Afghanistan to that infamous rooftop in Dhahran, you will be consumed by the bloody chaos of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.Just when you think you can't be shocked anymore by scenes of war and destruction, political repression, natural disaster and apathy, the equally shocking truth of what goes on behind the scenes of broadcasting is exposed.This book makes you think, not just about what is happening in the world around us, but what or who determines how much we learn of it.Kent shows us the risks somejournalists take everyday, in order to bring real news to us.We owe them more than just passively sitting in front of our T.V. sets accepting whatever the networks choose to feed us.It's nice to know that old cowboy movies aren't the only place where the guy wearing the white hat can still win the battle ... Read more

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Addressing the wide range of programmes and formats from news, to documentary, to popular factual genres, Annette Hill’s new book examines the ways viewers navigate their way through a busy, noisy and constantly changing factual television environment.

Restyling Factual TV addresses the wide range of programmes that fall within the category of 'factuality', from politics, to natural history, to reality entertainment.

Based on research with audiences of factual TV, primarily in Sweden and the UK, but with reference to other countries such as the US, this book tackles issues such as legitimacy, ethics and value in contemporary news and current affairs, documentary and reality programming.

Drawing on the ethics of truth-telling and notions of quality, this wide-ranging, authoritative book expands the debate on popular factual entertainment and will be a welcome addition to the current literature.

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A behind-the-scenes account of how Roone Arledge transformed ABC's news division draws on hundreds of interviews with top network personnel to examine Arledge's willingness to experiment and to spend money on talent. 25,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Enigima
People who follow the television industry closer may rate this book higher than I do.I saw Roone's funeral on C-SPAN and learned a couple of interesting things about him (he never returned phone calls), so when I saw this book at the library I thought I'd read it.

Roone Arledge was an enigima.He was a television genius, but if you read a physiological profile on him before interviewing him you might never hire him.Okay, maybe that can be said about many high level executives.Roone couldn't make decisions, didn't like commitments (didn't sign a contract for his new job as President of ABC News until three years after he took the job), hated adversial positions, and let business problems fester until he had absolutely had to intervene.Doesn't sound like the type of pro-active executive that I'd want running my business.People skills weren't Roone's strong suit either, and he claimed he had nothing to do with a business or television mess where he had been an active participant or arrange for somebody else to take the blame.Okay, a lot of managers could plead guilty to these sins if their egos would let them.

Roone also liked stars (one female correspondent referred to it as star-f****** in the figurative not literal sense), but for his own career reasons.By hiring the big name star from another network he felt that he couldn't be second guessed if the star flopped (Katie Couric?).Promote somebody within the network and that person flopped, he was afraid that he wouldbe second guessed forever.Go the safe route not the risky route regardless of the upside.Roone also broke the industry pay scale when he first hired a correspondent Cassie Mackin (never heard of her)from NBC.The standard network correspondentswas $50-$75K at the time and Roone gave Mackin $100,000.Of course, this filtered through the industry and in time the industry pay scale increased substantially.Only the correspondents, anchors, and producers liked this.This made Roone the George Steinbrenner or Ted Turner of his industry.In short I'm not sure if Roone would have been a successful in any other industry except maybe the movie industry, but he sure struck gold in TV. ... Read more

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Teaches performers to analyze themselves, maximize their assets, and minimize their liabilities.Details the fundamentals necessary to work and succeed in the broadcast industry.


... Read more

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Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing, Fourth Edition examines the skills, techniques, and challenges of writing and reporting for broadcast journalism. Along with complete coverage of the fundamentals, the text presents up-to-date examples and issues through actual scripts and interviews with the people who bring us the news.

The book emphasizes real-life situations, and examines the problems that reporters, writers, assignment editors, and producers face every day. Each chapter contains exercises for writing, review, and discussion so that students can learn and apply what they've read.

This new edition contains material on embedded journalists, their preparation (journalist boot camp), including the late CNN reporter David Bloom, and their impact on the news. It includes new examples of tabloid journalism and expanded information on the state of terrorism and crime reporting today.

Ted White has been a broadcast journalist since starting his career as a copy boy for The Voice of America while in college as a journalism student. He worked for CBS, ABC, and CNN as well as other major radio and TV stations in NYC where he was a writer, reporter, editor, and producer before becoming a college professor at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

*New information on embedded journalism
*Expanded information on crime reporting
*New examples of tabloid journalism ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

From camera to journalist
I highly recommend this book to any upcoming or experienced journalist. It is clear, very well laid out, packed with valuable information and practical examples, and can easily be picked up at any chapter for reference. I wish I had "Broadcast News" 10years ago when I started my career in NEWS. If you're involved in television news, buy this book together with Shook & Larson's 5th edition on "Television Field Production and Reporting", both books are excellent choices! E. ... Read more

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Electronic Media has called Wayne Freedman "probably the premier local TV news feature reporter in the country" – and he’s put those celebrated feature techniques to use in writing everyday news, as well. he’s won 41 Emmy Awards, 11 of them for newswriting. And while no book can convey all the lessons he’s learned through his years of experience, It Takes More Than Good Looks will give working and aspiring journalists a good sense of how he’s found such success – and how they, too, can survive and thrive in the maddening, exhilarating world of television news.

It Takes More Than Good Looks follows the anecdotal style of Freedman’srenowned seminars, but delves more deeply into the issues facing broadcast journalists in the field. Scripts and stories from Freedman’s own career illustrate such important concepts as story structure, the perils of going live, dealing with time constraints, and much more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

A must for all journalists
I am not exaggerating when I say this book changed my life as a journalist.

I've been a TV news reporter for a little more than two years. Throughout those years I had one major struggle; How do I improve? Time and time again, I would ask this question to news directors and colleagues I admired. Time and time again they would respond, "You're doing fine."

I may be young but I'm not stupid. I knew full well that at this early stage in my career I had MOUNTAINS to climb to become a great journalist. And my work was far from "fine". Through mere happenstance, I found Wayne Freedman's book on my desk. A former co-worker left it to me once she left the business.

From the minute I picked up Freedman's book, I couldn't put it down. It only took several chapters to noticeably change the way I write my packages.

I found myself more in tune with my writing, looking at the bigger picture. From using emotion to speak to your audience, to developing a central character. Too often I overlooked elements in my stories that, had I made them more centralized, would have made my story so much better. His examples and transcribed packages blew me away. Reading his thought process and understanding how he came up with an intro or an andgle can really help you figure out your "voice" and style in journalism.

Since I've read the book, viewers have gone as far as to send me emails, congratulating me on "a story well told". Not only that, co-workers have taken notice. Those same co-workers who said I was "...doing fine" are now saying, "Wow, that was great!" So, clearly there was more for me to learn, there is always more to learn.

This book accomplished that. I will say this, I still have a long way to go. I still have experience to gain to be that great reporter I aspire to be. But at 25 years old I'm OK with that. At least I have specific skills to hone now, things to work on. Where as before I repeated my "incorrect" routine over and over again. Following a formula that Freedman helped me break.

I not only encourage people to read this book who are looking to pursue journalism as a career, but people who are already in the business. There is always room for improvement, whether you've been in this for two years or 20. And I undoubtedly believe this book can do that.

I am probably breaking Freedman's valuable advice already by dragging this review on and writing too much. But I have to give credit where credit is due, and a short blurb just wouldn't suffice.

I hope one day I get to shake the hand of Mr. Freedman and thank him in person for the wonderful impact this book had on my career. My only question of him now is...when's the second book coming?

Gem of a Book !!
If you want to write television news stories that simply sing, this is a must-have book.

I'm a reporter at a station in Allentown, PA, and I bought this book a while ago and have re-read it several times ... each time I get something new out of it.

More importantly, it's absolutely packed with "tricks of the trade" that are useful and creative.

Lastly, the book is simply a joy to read...I think I read it in two days.

If you're serious about good reporting and telling people's stories that will linger in the minds of your viewers long after the newscast has ended, I suggest you give this book a try.

TV Storytelling At Its Best
Let me make this brief, in the best style of broadcast journalism: Wayne Freedman is one of the finest storytellers in the field, masterfully weaving video, sound and just the right words to tell stories that no one else seems to find. More importantly, he has found a way to tell OTHERS how to do this. As a professor of broadcast journalism, I can tell you that that is no small accomplishment. If you are a serious student of television journalism (and no, that is NOT an oxymoron), you need to have this book. You also need to read it.

It Takes More Than Good Looks...
Wayne Freedman is a video storyteller and a television survivor.Those traits alone are worth the price of this book.I looked to his work for inspiration during my years as television reporter and now I use this book as a broadcast news professor to show students the possibilities of video journalism, either online or on TV.

Since he is a great storyteller, Freedman's book doesn't read like a textbook.It reads like a good book.The insights, lessons, and tips are all in there, but they are woven within funny, interesting, and unforgettable stories from the field.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about a career in video journalism, or those who are already working and want to know how to push to the next level.

Buy the book, read it, then read it again.
Landing a TV reporting job is not tough.Make a tape, be persistent and someone somewhere will put you on the air.

Leaning the craft of television news reporting is a different ballgame.In, It Takes More than Good Looks to Succeed at TV News Reporting, Wayne Freedman shows what it takes to become one of the very best.

This book offers practical, easy to use tips to anyone in the business.The challenges and frustrations Wayne describes will happen to you, count on it.Just as important, he explains ways to overcome those obstacles.Regardless of your experience level, this book is crammed full of useful tips that can improve your work.

But this is not only a collection of "how to" tips.

It Takes More than Good Looks to Succeed at TV News Reporting, inspired me.Those of us lucky enough to make a career of TV news have the best, most interesting jobs around.Thanks to Wayne we now have a playbook to make ourselves, and our work, even better!
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Product Description
Broadcast News has been by far the most widely used radio and television journalism textbook in America, according to a study conducted at Syracuse University. The New York Times has called it: "The best-selling textbook in its field since publication in 1981." There are good reasons for this. Broadcast News uses many, many more examples -- including its well known "weak" vs. "better" examples -- than any other journalism textbook. Almost all its examples are actual, real-world examples taken from television and radio stations -- small and large -- throughout the United States. The discussions and explanations in Broadcast News are unusually clear and well organized; the exercises are effective and well tested. And this book practices what it preaches: clear, engaging writing.And this new edition has been completely updated, with numerous new discussions that will familiarize students with the latest technologies and issues in television and radio newsrooms.This widely used text works well for virtually any level radio/television journalism class. Instructors find it appealing because of its clear instruction, lively writing, abundant examples, and thorough coverage, as well as its accurate and up-to-date discussions.The reviewer-praised homework assignments and the examples of "weak" vs. "better" sample sentences get students working and thinking critically about their writing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It's OK
This book is good for people who know absolutely nothing about broadcast news. Some of the examples seem a little obvious, and the structure of the book isn't the easiest to get through. Some people in my class said they just skimmed it and didn't need to read too carefully to get the main points. Overall, it does not seem to be worth the crazy price.

Pointless book
I'm not sure why anyone requires this book. I never opened it and aced all the quizzes on it. It's such common sense!

Don't buy it unless you have a learning disability, or have never, ever, watched a news program. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

All the News That's Fit to Sell: How Markets Transform Information into News
For all those searching for the new business model to support ambitious public affairs journalism as newspapers, this book sets out in stark terms the challenges they face. This book should be required reading.

Another instance of facts being shaped or ignored to fit the theory......
This is a thought provoking book, but much of the assumptions, interpretations, and conclusions bear little resemblance to how average newspaper reporters think and behave on a daily basis. Economic theory should be based on facts, rather than the other way around.

An economist's view of news and its (dis)contents
Having last studied economics as an undergraduate many years ago, I was partially prepared to understand the perspective from which Prof. Hamilton analyzes news, its content, and the market forces dictating that content and its distribution in "All the News That's Fit to Sell".As a citizen concerned with the body politic and its seeming habit of voting against its own long-term economic interests, I was more than curious to understand how, in an age when access to information is almost limitless, people continue to subscribe to political falsehoods and half-truths propagated by our elected officials.

Hamilton throws us into the deep end of economic theory right away by observing that "news is a commodity... a product shaped by forces of supply and demand," and thus amenable to market theory to "predict the content of news and evaluate its impact on society." In this way, he wants to show "how consumers' desires drive news coverage and how this conflicts with ideals of what the news ought to be."

First, Hamilton places news within the larger category of information goods--goods characterized by being public and experience goods, by product dimension differentiation, and by high fixed costs/low variable costs.These characteristics help explain how market forces determine what becomes news.At the consumer end, Hamilton borrows from Anthony Downs to identify four information demands, i.e. reasons people desire information: consumption, production, entertainment, and voting.For the first three demands, consumption of the news realizes its benefit.For voting, however, the economic cost of investing the time and effort to inform oneself on each of the candidates and their positions does not justify the probability that that individual's vote will change the final election outcome, leading to Downs's conclusion "that voters do not demand information on policy details and choose to remain 'rationally ignorant'."

Although recent percentage voter turnout and the public's relative lack of political awareness seemingly bears out Downs's dismal analysis, enough Americans demand political information such that the market provides outlets for "hard news".In Hamilton's formulation, "hard news" contains high levels of public affairs information while "soft news" contains very little or none.

This sets up the main thrust of the book: how we can use economics to model media content and predict market failures, i.e. those types of news coverage likely to be underproduced, and what are the ultimate costs of these failures.This assumes, of course, that one can place a standard of value on outcomes of news coverage and consumption.This element of subjectivity "means that economics yields partial, not final, answers in questions about news coverage." But, "If one is willing to make assumptions about media effects and stipulate particular ends for media policy,... then economics can provide more help in the design of policies chosen to achieve a given set of outcomes."In so many words, Hamilton seems to be using economics to find ways to increase both the production and consumption of unbiased hard news.After exhaustive analyses of news demographics and content, their effects on voting outcomes, and of how market forces, along with deregulation and centralization, have slowly turned hard news into empty partisan posturing and entertainment fluff, Hamilton offers some solutions, including lower the cost of access to information, change the conditions under which broadcasters receive broadcasting licenses, subsidize information markets, devote public resources towards providing information, create norms that reward hard news reporting, and stimulate demand for information through education and advertising.

"All the News That's Fit to Sell" offers the hopeful message that greater access to unbiased information will lead to better political outcomes.With the increasing political participation of religious dogmatists and other rigid ideologues who have already found their versions of the truth, the need for greater public participation and interest in public policy has never been greater, and Hamilton's book provides a framework for understanding and realizing that goal. ... Read more

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Explores the public and private lives of Steven Spielberg, who has combined popular storytelling with artistic creativity to become hailed as the most successful film director in the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent -- but already a bit Dated
This book is one of the several Ferguson Career Bios designed to inform, encourage and inspire Junior (Middle School) and Senior High Students who are beginning to explore career possibilities. Similar Bios/Career Tracking volumes in the series have been developed for Laura Bush, Halle Berry, Lance Armstrong, Jennifer Lopez, Mia Hamm, J.K. Rowling and Sally Ride.

The writing is clear and concise with a minimum of tangential clutter. It's designed to present Ms Couric specifically and Broadcast Journalism generally in the most favorable light. The book itself is attractively designed with sharp photos and clean print.

Even with a copyright of 2006 this Bio is already somewhat dated as it does not address Ms Couric's move to CBS. Perhaps a new edition with an additional chapter might expand on this. And for my tastes, I would have preferred a few more of those photos.

There are some supplementary materials in the back of the book that should be both interesting and helpful to the young person:
* Katie's Biographical Timeline
* 'How to Become a News Broadcaster'
* 'To Learn More about News Broadcasters'
* Additional Katie Couric Resources for further exploration

This is quite a fine piece of work that addresses its target audience faithfully and well. Having said this, it seems that this book (and possibly the series) is not quite realistic regarding career possibilities for most that would go into a particular profession. I believe this element should have been addressed more pointedly and realistically. Few will become personalities who gain 'star' exposure, unlimited prestige and earn those multi-million dollar salaries.

Four Stars though.

Russell de Ville
9 January 2010
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The aftermath of Japan's 1945 military defeat left its public institutions in a state of deep crisis; virtually every major source of state legitimacy was seriously damaged or wholly remade by the postwar occupation. Between 1960 and 1990, however, these institutions renewed their strength, taking on legitimacy that erased virtually all traces of their postwar instability.

How did this transformation come about? This is the question Ellis S. Krauss ponders in Broadcasting Politics in Japan; his answer focuses on the role played by the Japanese mass media and in particular by Japan's national broadcaster, NHK.

Since the 1960s, television has been a fixture of the Japanese household, and NHK's TV news has until very recently been the dominant, and most trusted, source of political information for the Japanese citizen. NHK's news style is distinctive among the broadcasting systems of industrialized countries; it emphasizes facts over interpretation and gives unusual priority to coverage of the national bureaucracy. Krauss argues that this approach is not simply a reflection of Japanese culture, but a result of the organization and processes of NHK and their relationship with the state. These factors had profound consequences for the state's postwar re-legitimization, while the commercial networks' recent challenge to NHK has helped engender the wave of cynicism currently faced by the state.

Krauss guides the reader through the complex interactions among politics, media organizations, and Japanese journalism to demonstrate how NHK television news became a shaper of Japan's political world, rather than simply a lens through which to view it. ... Read more

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Examines the personal life, career, and success of the creator of the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" movies, whose technological innovations have had a major impact on the film industry. ... Read more

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The bad news is that Courtney Clay and the Bunheads are in the gang's winter dance class. The good news is that world-famous ballerina Alexandra Petrovna is coming to dance at the Deerfield Academy. The gang and the Bunheads are competing to see who will be her flower-bearer during her performance. Mary Bubnik gets the nod from an unlikely source: the Bunheads, who want to see her fail. Mary's the worst dancer in the gang! In this second book in the Bad News Ballet series, kindness brings a surprising reward. As Mary tells her friends, "I suppose it's possible to be happier than this, but I'm not sure how." ... Read more