Letters to a Young Journalist

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Letters to a Young Journalist Pub. Date: 4/28/2006 Publisher: Basic Books

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Overview

It is no secret that journalism’s mission is seriously imperiled these days, but in Letters to a Young Journalist, Samuel G. Freedman shows that the craft is not only worth pursuing but more crucial than ever. Freedman draws on his thirty-year career as an award-winning practitioner and professor of journalism to inspire students and seasoned professionals alike with wise guidance, penetrating insights, and astonishing anecdotes. In this updated edition, Freedman also addresses the recent unprecedented transformations within the industry—changes with which journalists at every level now have to contend.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Former New York Times reporter Freedman is a professor of journalism at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism; you'd expect this to be a book of practical tips and advice for students of the craft. It is not. Instead, Freedman has much to say about journalistic integrity, plain language and honest legwork, castigating recent malefactors like Jayson Blair, Judith Miller, and Dan Rather, and even scolding Janet Malcolm for her famous indictment of the journalist as "confidence man, preying on people's vanity, ignorance, or loneliness, gaining their trust and betraying them without remorse." The book is partly a memoir, looking back on the author's career, partly a lament over the state of today's journalism, a bastion of "chic misanthropy" or sheeplike conformism; and partly a heads-up to youth-he despises undergraduate journalism classes, counseling wannabes to choose almost any other major in favor of practical experience on the school newspaper. Not until halfway along or so does Freedman offer specific advice. Not a journalism primer, this could be an inspirational tract alongside one. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Freedman began his 30-year career by covering municipal meetings in northern New Jersey. He went on to write books, teach at Columbia, and become a columnist for the New York Times. Letters is not simply his reminiscences, nor is it a screed about the decline of journalism, though he lets his feelings about certain publishers be known. The book is fundamentally a manual that addresses how to be a journalist and how to succeed in the business. The author's experiences writing, reporting, and teaching allow him to compare different approaches to the newspaper business and to give suggestions for newcomers to the field. He offers valuable advice based on his experiences and the collective wisdom of his colleagues, including the need to adhere to such standards as trust, accuracy, and relevancy. Aspiring journalists can profit from this concise and purposeful guide.-Ted Westervelt, Library of Congress, Washington, DC Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780465024568
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication date: 11/8/2011
Edition description: First Trade Paper Edition
Pages: 208
Sales rank: 533,008
Product dimensions: 4.90 (w) x 7.90 (h) x 0.70 (d)

Meet the Author

Samuel G. Freedman is a Professor of Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and the author of six books of nonfiction. He has worked as a reporter for the New York Times and contributor to Rolling Stone and Salon, among other publications, and has won numerous awards, including a Distinguished Teaching in Journalism Award, a National Jewish Book Award, and the Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism. He lives in New York City.

	Temperament	21
	Reporting	47
	Writing	87
	Career	133
	Epilogue : ancestor worship	167

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Anonymous

Posted October 19, 2006

Heartfelt well-crafted advice to novice journalists

American journalism is deeply flawed, but not fatally so, reporter Samuel G. Freedman argues in this clear-eyed critique of his calling. As one deeply steeped in his trade, Freedman offers both a damning indictment and an inspiring call to the next generation. Freedman structures his analysis as a series of letters to one of his students, and manages to strike just the right balance between the theoretical and the practical. He seasons his study with plenty of war stories from the front lines of journalism. In a business full of cynics, Freedman comes across as an idealist, one reporter who believes in the power of the press to change the world, in spite of dwindling readership and advertising revenue. We recommend this slim volume to anyone who works in the media or needs to understand its best intentions.
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Anonymous

Posted September 1, 2006

Every journalist should read this book

This is an excellent book for aspiring, as well as veteran, reporters. Every journalism student in the U.S. should read it. For full disclosure, Sam is a friend of mine.
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Anonymous

Posted January 19, 2010

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