Scotty: James B. Reston And the Rise And Fall of American Journalism - Hardcover
When President Kennedy finished his most difficult meeting ever with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, the first person he talked to was not one of his advisers, not his vice president, and not his wife. Walking out of the meeting, still steamed and shocked, Kennedy spoke first with James Reston.
And so it was for others, for president after president, from Truman through Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, and Carter. James Reston was the most powerful, most admired, most influential newspaper columnist America had ever seen, the best journalist of his time, and perhaps the best of any time. Reston, who emigrated from Scotland as a boy, tapped into his vast reserves of intelligence, hustle, and ambition to rise steadily up the New York Times ranks, and helped make it the greatest paper in the world. As a writer, he was read by more Americans than any other on public affairs. As a talent spotter, he brought into the Times a galaxy of future stars. He was the model of what a young journalist wanted to become: wise, fair, able to speak in his own voice, and so well respected by those in power that he was routinely granted access to the greatest secrets of the world he covered.
But in time, some of Reston's greatest virtues would become liabilities, and proximity to power would take its toll. And thus Reston's story encompasses not only the life of one great man, but also the rise and fall of American journalism. More than brilliant biography, Scotty is a secret history - of one man's life, of what went on behind closed Washington doors, of the stories that shaped our world and the stories that never made the papers.
And so it was for others, for president after president, from Truman through Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, and Carter. James Reston was the most powerful, most admired, most influential newspaper columnist America had ever seen, the best journalist of his time, and perhaps the best of any time. Reston, who emigrated from Scotland as a boy, tapped into his vast reserves of intelligence, hustle, and ambition to rise steadily up the New York Times ranks, and helped make it the greatest paper in the world. As a writer, he was read by more Americans than any other on public affairs. As a talent spotter, he brought into the Times a galaxy of future stars. He was the model of what a young journalist wanted to become: wise, fair, able to speak in his own voice, and so well respected by those in power that he was routinely granted access to the greatest secrets of the world he covered.
But in time, some of Reston's greatest virtues would become liabilities, and proximity to power would take its toll. And thus Reston's story encompasses not only the life of one great man, but also the rise and fall of American journalism. More than brilliant biography, Scotty is a secret history - of one man's life, of what went on behind closed Washington doors, of the stories that shaped our world and the stories that never made the papers.
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Review:
Those of us in the journalism racket consume almost any book about our peers, but the really good ones speak beyond this inside audience to comment on the role the media plays in American society, and this ambitious biography of The New York Times celebrated Washington correspondent of the '60s does just that. James "Scotty" Reston was a shrewd and canny reporter of the old school (he always did the necessary legwork) with a skill for writing clear, direct, and sometimes poetic prose that struck directly at the heart of the matter. (As early as August 1965, he presciently wrote of Vietnam: "We could win the war and lose the people, and that would be the final irony of the story.") His diligence was rewarded with the sort of unfettered access to presidents and other top policymakers that is unthinkable today. The book opens with a vignette in which President Kennedy unburdens himself in incredibly frank language about his frightening meeting with Khrushchev in Vienna in 1961. (Kennedy talked to Reston minutes after the session ended, before he'd even briefed any of his top aides and advisors.)
About the Author:
For Stacks, a veteran reporter for Time magazine, the loss of this sort of access in favor of the relentless spin machine that dominates today is nothing less than a tragedy, but he isn't completely dewy-eyed about the past or his subject. In classic corporate fashion, Reston was promoted to his level of incompetence. He was a great reporter, but a lousy editor and later-day columnist, and he finally allowed his proximity to power to cloud his vision in the mid-'70s, when he essentially became a willing mouthpiece for the Machiavellian Henry Kissinger. In addition to tracking a fascinating story and offering a unique perspective on familiar historical events, Scotty is a worthy read for illustrating just how difficult it is to maintain the "outsider" stance necessary for good journalism--and just how much this country needs it. --Jim DeRogatis
John F. Stacks is a former deputy managing editor and chief of correspondents for Time magazine. For more than three decades he reported on Congress, the White House, and presidential politics, covering the national campaigns from 1968 through 1980. He is the author of three other books and lives in New York.
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- PublisherDiane Pub Co
- ISBN 10 0756788587
- ISBN 13 9780756788582
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages372
- Rating
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