Behind the Front Page : A Candid Look at How the News Is Made

by David S. Broder

Takes us inside the newsroom and out on the beats to show how reporters do their jobs. This book exposes the newsroom frailties and when the working press has not lived up to the highest standards. David Broder uses his own experience as well as his colleagues as examples

Genres: Nonfiction, Journalism, History

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Promising title, but highly disappointing. The book is full of flat, dull writing, and it failed to draw me in. If you're reading this book for the sole purpose of politics and election coverage then you may be interested in some of the anecdotes.

Pros:
The book was well formatted (it doesn't jump around, or become confusing).
The chapter headings sounded interesting.
There were a lot of behind the scenes info about political events and politicians.

Cons:
It wasn't a strong "behind the scenes" look at the newsroom. I felt there are other books that pulled this off better. Since the title promised "a candid look at how the news is made" this was a major disappointment for me.
While the chapter heading piqued my interest, the actual content was lackluster.
I personally felt he was too lenient on bias/corruption/lying/misleading in journalism.
The writing was repetitive and dry.

If you're interested in political campaigns of yesteryear you may enjoy this book.