The Spoiler
Annalena McAfee
Knopf, Apr 10 2012, $25.95
ISBN: 9780307957344
In 1997 London, octogenarian Pulitzer Prize winning war correspondent Honor Tait reported from frontlines of all the major wars since the 1930s. She is the legend though she loathes fame as that interferes with covering a story. Her time as "The Newsroom Dietrich" is long gone and she forgotten with the new multimedia journalism replacing her foxhole reporting; Honor knows her time has passed although her renowned war dispatches are being collected for publication.
The Monitor’s S*nday magazine sends twentyish reporter Tamara Sim to interview Honor as the beginning of a gossip article on the scandalous behavior of Tait. Known for the top ten lists, Sim plans to find ten incidents of dirt focusing on her three mirages and alleged affairs. Thus the modern day media savvy journalist and the old school foxhole warrior begin a battle of wits in which confirmed "truths" are irrelevant wastes of time as bottom line sensational headlines is all that matters.
The Spoiler is a fascinating look at the changing of the guard in journalism. Whereas the war correspondents faced danger and witnessed the brutal impact of war first hand, the new breed with technology at hand are vetted with units so they reporting from a safe distances. The two protagonists are an intriguing pair who plays a cat and mouse game in regards to the personal life of Tait. The internet and amateur reporting are almost ignored (for instance, Rodney King’s police brutality case was in 1991) and the ethics will be seen by readers early-on. Still fans will enjoy this look at the beginning of the end of journalism as we know it (Ernie Pyle would not have made it).
Harriet Klausner
Annalena McAfee
Knopf, Apr 10 2012, $25.95
ISBN: 9780307957344
In 1997 London, octogenarian Pulitzer Prize winning war correspondent Honor Tait reported from frontlines of all the major wars since the 1930s. She is the legend though she loathes fame as that interferes with covering a story. Her time as "The Newsroom Dietrich" is long gone and she forgotten with the new multimedia journalism replacing her foxhole reporting; Honor knows her time has passed although her renowned war dispatches are being collected for publication.
The Monitor’s S*nday magazine sends twentyish reporter Tamara Sim to interview Honor as the beginning of a gossip article on the scandalous behavior of Tait. Known for the top ten lists, Sim plans to find ten incidents of dirt focusing on her three mirages and alleged affairs. Thus the modern day media savvy journalist and the old school foxhole warrior begin a battle of wits in which confirmed "truths" are irrelevant wastes of time as bottom line sensational headlines is all that matters.
The Spoiler is a fascinating look at the changing of the guard in journalism. Whereas the war correspondents faced danger and witnessed the brutal impact of war first hand, the new breed with technology at hand are vetted with units so they reporting from a safe distances. The two protagonists are an intriguing pair who plays a cat and mouse game in regards to the personal life of Tait. The internet and amateur reporting are almost ignored (for instance, Rodney King’s police brutality case was in 1991) and the ethics will be seen by readers early-on. Still fans will enjoy this look at the beginning of the end of journalism as we know it (Ernie Pyle would not have made it).
Harriet Klausner
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