All the News Unfit to Print: How Things Were... and How They Were Reported

by Eric Burns

You really can't believe everything you read . . . A premature newswire report announces the end of World War I, spurring wild celebrations in American streets days before the actual treaty was signed. A St. Louis newspaper prints reviews of theatrical performances that never took place—they had been canceled due to bad weather. New York newspaper reporters plant evidence in the apartment of the man accused of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby and then call him a liar in the courtroom once the trial begins. These are just a few of the many wrongs that have been reported as right over two centuries of American history. All the News Unfit to Print puts the media under the microscope to expose the many types of mistakes, hoaxes, omissions, and lies that have skewed our understanding of the past, and reveals the range of reasons and motivations—from boredom and haste to politics and greed-behind them. Reviewing a host of journalistic slip-ups involving Ben Franklin, Mark Twain, William Randolph Hearst, Theodore H. White, and many others, this book covers the stories behind the stories to refine incorrect ""first drafts"" of history from the Revolutionary War era to more recent times. "" All the News Unfit to Print is a rollicking joyride that careens through the ridiculous, the odd, and the serious malfeasances in American journalistic history and reminds us of the difference between news and facts.""
— Neal Gabler , author of Walt The Triumph of the American Imagination

Genres: History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Eric Burns is an American media critic and journalist. He began his career as a correspondent for NBC News where he appeared regularly on NBC Nightly News and on the Today show.

Burns has written five critically-acclaimed books and continues to work in television. He has worked as a commentator for Entertainment Tonight, host of Arts & Entertainment Revue on A&E, and is the former host of Fox News Channel's Fox News Watch, as well as a media analyst for the network.

Burns received an Emmy Award for media criticism and was named by the Washington Journalism Review as one of the best writers in the history of broadcast journalism.

Reviews

[Mark Chadwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read that I finished last week. I can usually read anywhere between 3-5 books at the same time. Usually a mix of fix and non-fiction. I might have a biography going, a mystery, a book about Baseball, a book about music etc so it is not uncommon for me to finish more than one book in a week, especially since I have been reading all of them for a while. That is just how I roll.

I did enjoy this book which presents a series of historical looks at the days when journalists did not adhere to the "Code of Ethics" that they claim to follow today. It does seem that the monkey business described in this volume, while much lesser than back in the day, is certainly rarer than it used to be. As long as journalism is in the hands of human beings, equipped with human foibles and failings, there will always be shoddy, "unethical" journalism. It has only been ten year or so since the Judy Miller "New York Times" scandal. Yet, she continues to ply her craft today. Maybe there is less outrage instead of more. Certainly, the standards for "online" journalism seem to be a little looser than traditional "print" journalism.

I know that somebody on Goodreads took a knock at this book because the author had worked for Fox News or "Faux News" as I refer to it in my house). I don't detect any political bias in this book, and I have a nose for that sort of thing. I suspect that the political bias at Fox is not as common among the so-called "reporters" than it is for the commentators, editors and anchor people.

Still Highly Recommended

[Dan Keefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting group of brief non-fiction accounts of less than truthful "news" stories written by the likes Samuel Adams, Ben Franklin, Hearst, Pulitzer and other perhaps less known journalists.

In some cases the press as a hole (as holes) rushed to judgement, withheld information that ran contrary to personal agendas, and just made up stories because there was no REAL story to report.

As the previously mentioned names suggest, most of those who violated so-called "journalist ethics" moved on to bigger and better things, suggesting that these ethics are a sham.

The one thing in the book that I didn't know but should have: The top journalism award, the Pulitzer, isn't named after a journalist who stands above all others for his writing and integrity. It was named after him because he donated millions to have it named after him. He was a muckraker, too!

[Chris Elkjar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and all encompassing look at the highs and lows of journalistic integrity since the origination of the concept of "news". This is a really easy to read collection of amusing stories.

This book spans from the 1600s up to the current generation of tabloid rags and reality television. Turns out the good old days were pretty filthy as well.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The information in the book was really interesting, especially how William Randolph Hearst helped to start the Spanish-American War and how Samuel Johnson made up years of Parliament reports. The writing felt a bit choppy, especially the transitions. Many felt like he was reaching to make connections instead of just starting a new idea.

[Daniel DeLappe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read two of Mr Burns book. This one is much beter then the first. In the last paragraph of this book he comes up with the idea for his next book. Anyone into privacy (what we have and don't) should be a great read.

[Jim]

burns is a reporter for Fox News so anything he writes should be taken w/a beach of sand, but having just watched him on CSPAN/BookTV this sounds legit and interesting.

[Paul Ditroia · Rating 2 out of 5]

He writes with a certain sense of grandiose urgency as if to say,"Hey! I have something very important to tell you.". I found the book to be pompous and not particularly well written.