Jill AbramsonCritiques

Un libro bellissimo.
Tutto statunitense, costruito su due media vecchio stile (Washington Post e New York Times) e due nuovi media (Vice e Buzzfeed) e su come questi media abbiano affrontato il cambiamento nella "preparazione" delle notizie derivante da Internet e dai social media.
Quello che mi ha stupito e che si parla ANCHE di giornalismo e di giornalisti, in terza o quarta battuta. Prima ci sono la tecnologia, la modalità di comunicazione, i mezzi per la raccolta dati,....
Libro molto bello, che consiglierei a chiunque "da grande" volesse fare il giornalista.

nonfiction / raising/training a puppy memoir (golden retriever)

drags a little bit, but fine if you're looking for stories about puppy training.

In un libro importante, per foliazione e contenuti, Jill Abramson, prima donna a ricoprire il ruolo di direttore del New York Times, prova a fornire una originale lettura del momento attuale del mercato dell’informazione negli Stati Uniti. E lo fa partendo, da brava giornalista, dai fatti, dalle storie di due colossi storici dell’informazione a stelle e strisce, il New York Times e il Washington Post, e due siti di informazione di grande successo, Vice e BuzzFeed. L’autrice racconta le storie dei giornali, degli editori e dei giornalisti, e partendo dalle storie riesce a dare un senso alla direzione del mercato delle notizie. Iniziando dalla demolizione del concetto dell’informazione gratuita sul web che ha creato danni difficilmente recuperabili per gran parte delle imprese editoriali. La chiusura di centinaia di quotidiani storici e la perdita di decine di migliaia di posti di lavoro è stata probabilmente frutto dell’incapacità da parte degli editori e dei manager di leggere il futuro del web e di comprendere le vere opportunità del digitale, troppo legati a schemi desueti e dalla facilità di risolvere i problemi con i tagli. I nuovi siti d’informazione, nativi digitali, hanno invece imposto i loro modelli che macinavano enormi numeri che hanno da subito attirato capitali importanti. Ma vedendo, invece, il conto economico l’impressione è che dietro quei numeri ci fosse l’interesse della grande finanza a trovare facili guadagni nella compravendita dei titoli piuttosto che nel rendimento dell’impresa. Un libro importante che consente delle serie riflessioni sul momento del mercato editoriale negli Stati Uniti e, di conseguenza, in prospettiva in Europa. Un viaggio interessante nel cuore dell’informazione mondiale.

Read my review at: http://shannonsbookbag.blogspot.com/2012/01/puppy-diaries-raising-dog-named-scou...

The New York Times Washington correspondent Steven V. Roberts said, "This is clearly a reporter's book, full of rich anecdote and telling detail.... I am impressed with the amount of inside information collected here."[16]

"The falsehoods and distortions involved in the selling of Clarence Thomas to the American people neither started nor ended with the treatment of Anita Hill's accusations. From the beginning, the placement of Thomas on the high court was seen as a political end justifying almost any means. The full story of his confirmation thus raises questions not only about who lied and why, but, more important, about what happens when politics becomes total war and the truth -- and those who tell it -- are merely unfortunate sacrifices on the way to winning." -- from "Strange Justice"

A captivating look into the life of President Barack Obama, his early years and in uences, and experiences that led him to the White House.

I can't say I enjoyed this overly long book which discusses the changing ways in which people are getting their news. Subscriptions to print media (newspapers) have been falling over the years, while more and more people are only getting their news from on-line sources and social media. In Merchants of Truth, Jill Abramson, a former NY Times editor, writes about her personal career at the Times, about the changes going on with print media and how they figured out how to compete in a digital format, and about the rise of social media as a source of news for people today, especially among younger Americans.

Abramson spent some time discussing how on-line services like Vice and BuzzFeed began, and a little more about how sources such as Facebook and Politico became accepted and significant sources of news. She also explained in some detail who the key developers of the various social media feeds are, how "clickbait" is so commonly used to get "hits" which brings in revenue, and how users are easily and frequently manipulated.

Today, it's easier than ever to remain in an echo chamber of your own beliefs. Social media, favorite blogs, television networks, talk radio, etc., offer up a continual stream of information dedicated to a specific point of view of political beliefs, and people can choose only from those sources which reinforce their biases. For many, it's easy, and comforting, to choose only sources which feed us news we're most likely to favor, news we're most likely to want to see. Those politically oriented sources have the effect of simply reinforcing preexisting beliefs among readers.

One thing which seemed true is that so much of the "news" on politically oriented blogs and social media is often unverified, inflammatory, or simply made-up just to get "clicks". Finding news that fits your biases and preconceptions does not mean it's true, nor does finding news which challenges your beliefs is necessarily false. I never trusted much of what I saw from social media before reading this book, and will trust even less going forward. ​An important message I received from this book is that before simply buying into any controversial "news" report, check it out from various news sources, at least one of which is likely to covers news from a different perspective.

Jill Abramson offers a thorough overview of several major news organizations' transition to the digital age, with a focus on four in particular: NYT, WaPo, BuzzFeed, and Vice.

This book is dense, with very few breaks in the very long chapters. Much was uninteresting to me, but I kept reading for the sake of the tidbits that offered me glimpses of what goes on behind the scenes to give me the news I consume every day.

I was least interested in Vice - the interests of its barely-legal male target demographic in no way coincide with my own. NYT & WaPo, OTOH, I read weekly and daily respectively, so those were the inside scoops I was really showing up for.

I listened to the entire book Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts by Jill Abramson. This book was based on an earlier book written by David Halberstam that was a Pulitzer Prize winner. The author of Merchants of Truth was a former executive editor of the New York Times and she chronicles the demise of the big national daily newspapers by concentrating on the Washington Post and the New York Times. She contrasts them with BuzzFeed and Vice. Her conclusions are that the newspapers are coming out on top of the news once again, with the newer on-line sources reverting to the tried and true methods of the old fashioned newspapers and their fact checking style of reporting. However, she says that the biggest problem with the new news sources is that when they start to really report the news instead of relying on "20 ways to reduce belly fat" type of articles, they start bleeding money. Her chapter on Facebook and how its algorithms works was very important and enlightening. Essentially Facebook relies on what she calls the "happiness factor" - find out what the poster likes and feed him more of the same thing. This creates a feedback loop which was exactly what Cathy O'Neil talked about in Weapons of Math Destruction.

I ended up reading parts of this book when I got to Kansas because I couldn't just keep replaying the parts I didn't understand on the audio. This book is really important for people who want to understand how Trump got elected, but I would recommend that you read the book rather than listen to it.½

Highly recommended....great book about the news business for anyone who thinks of themself as news-junkie. i learned a lot about getting the news from the internet instead of reading ‘the paper’
#newyorktimes

Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts by Jill Abramson, narrated by January LaVoy.
In this non-fiction presentation, Abramson, the former executive editor of the New York Times, who has been accused of plagiarism, attempts to explain what has happened to the print news industry and why. Using the New York Times, the Washington Post, Vice and Buzzfeed as primary examples, she shows how the digital news platform has been the catalyst for the demise of the print newspaper industry that was once in the vanguard of news presentation!
Most of the facts presented are already known, but she organizes them to illustrate how the people responsible for the loss of interest in reading print news and for the surge in demand for information from a sound bite, have catered to the lowest echelon of society. The news that the early digital companies presented consisted largely of trash with which to attract and titillate, to shock and capture an audience largely interested in negative content of any kind, smut, gossip, etc. The more confounding the news was, the better it was received. The audience originally attracted consisted of the lowest mean common denominator of society, those who wallowed in hateful behavior, erotica, and their own need for fifteen minutes of fame. The digital news innovators had no moral or ethical standards to follow, and quite possibly, none of their own either. Their only guideline was to reach people and create a viral incident online which would create a sensation. For sure, their mantra was not “all the news that’s fit to print”, rather the more unfit it was, the better. Abramson attempts to explain how that original idea morphed from presenting semi-real and sometimes fake news to also publicizing real news. Overall, however, the effort was to create crowd appeal above all.
The fact that Americans and others are much more interested in yellow journalism than honest journalism that used to act as the fourth estate, overseeing the wrongs of society, is really the most disheartening fact that I got out of the book. The fact that the public would rather read garbage, rumors, canards, and fake news headlines that stun them, than actually learn about what is really occurring, is extremely dismaying.
Discreditable and dishonorable, shadowy sources of news are often the most successful purveyors of information, blocking out the more respectable and honorable news outlets. Clickbait is sought over authentic news. Society is being brainwashed by news services with no standards of honor. The digital platform is how most of the future generations will expand their knowledge of the world, and it is woefully unconcerned about respect for others, honorable behavior toward others or the truthful presentation of information to the world.
Under this cloud of media frenzy that wishes only to gain headlines, is it any wonder that an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can gain notoriety even when she spouts nonsense? Is it any wonder that those who call others names are actually guilty of name calling but get away with it? The recent incident with the golfer Matt Kuchar whose tip for his caddy became hot news, is a prime example of what we have become, and the picture is not pretty. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone wants to voice it on some platform.
Utube, the Drudge Report and other non-mainstream sources, once marginalized, are now in the forefront and often break news stories without proper vetting. They are excused because they are not mainstream news outlets.
I find it a sad commentary on the world today that we cater to ignorance and sensationalism, exaggeration and even outright lies to attract an audience. Is it any wonder that President Trump uses Twitter? How is it different than the methods used by any other news source? He wants to make headlines too! Since the so-called mainstream media won’t give him a moment of positive coverage on their platforms, he attempts to create his own.
This is how a generation of young people wants to get its information. They are impatient and sometimes, not even very learned or literate. They do not do their own research to discover facts; they are lazy and ill informed by choice. They want the easy way out for everything because, after all, this is the generation that got a trophy merely for breathing in the presence of an event!
This book has more value in the way in which it exposes the trash that news has become, the garbage that it has produced at the expense of truth, and the loss of a platform that once acted as a check and a balance on the government, as an ethical source of information and as a tool to educate the masses. It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs we must face in the future.

So, I’m from the old school of the printed newspaper page and having a difficult time accepting that the research/impartiality/independence that used to be reflected in the printed newspaper page is no longer there. It is the fault of those organizations that they were too soon to condemn the importance of online journalism and too late to catch up. I blame that completely on their elitism and arrogance, pretty much of which is the author’s message.

This book was very informative from a historical perspective on what has happened to the news I grew up with and admired. Especially disconcerting is how material is now being presented online (and probably influencing printed stuff), often incorrect/biased and certainly not independent.

Not being from the millennial generation or the one following, I did not grow up with a computer glued to my hand 24/7 and obviously cannot fully relate. I look at how those generations are receiving information and lament at what they are being largely spoon fed as accurate or important; however, most of what they are told to or do believe is important or accurate is neither – it is advertiser/sponsor tainted material, or material that has simply had the highest number of clicks. “Trending” topics don’t make them correct – only popular. Funny videos get a lot of views and can be “trending” but no one would consider them as news, nor fully trust that they might not be staged.

Quite honestly, I do not know how they will ever find a way to be fully informed on important issues that will affect their lives. And if they don’t find a way to break through the BS out on line, their lives will be irreparably damaged. However, I won’t be around, so they will have to figure it out or suffer. I can influence my kids and point this out to them but too many who consume online/social media are not aware of how the “news” is being packaged for them, with attempts to influence their thinking. Certainly, this happens in the printed news, but typically the articles are much longer and you can form your own opinion…and you aren’t subject to having 50 different versions of a paper available for you to view before deciding to buy it.

In the end, the book is a sad commentary. I did have some problem with the very liberal take the author took on many things…but this is to be expected given she was heavily associated with the New York Times.

Scout, the new puppy, tries to help decorate for Christmas

This is a book for the novice and those who are on their zillionth dog. The book is part memoir/diary and part pet primer, with lots of information that the author gleaned while raising and training Scout. One of the things I learned in this book is that British standard is a type of Golden Retriever which is almost white. You'll also learn about choosing a dog; how and what to feed your dog; how to train your dog--there are at least two schools of thought, of course; exercise; pet care; and health insurance. The reader will learn, among other things, that there are a lot of choices to be made!

Abramson begins with the loss of her beloved Buddy and the reluctance to try to replace him. Her investigations into pet food and training, etc. are helpful to not only the novice, but those who aren't aware of some of the current choices--and trends.

3.5 stars for a light, enjoyable read. You'll love the book even if you don't have a dog.

The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout – J. Abramson
Audio version read by B.Macdonald

In 2009, I began to follow a series of articles written by New York Times editor, Jill Abramson. She was sharing the joys and traumas of her newest acquisition, a golden retriever puppy named Scout. I missed some of the articles, but I did contribute a picture of one of our dogs to the website photo album. It turned out to be the most visited photo album of the Times website that year. It is not surprising. We are a nation of dog lovers. And it is not surprising that Abramson’s articles would find their way into a book.

Puppy Diaries is an entertaining little memoir that any pet owner can appreciate. (This lovable pup ate not one, but two pairs of prescription glasses!) Abramson supports her personal experiences with investigative reporting and interviews with well known figures such as Temple Grandin, Cesar Milan and Karen Pryor. The audio version was very easy listening that I’d recommend to any dog lover.

Jill Abramson gave herself an unwinnable task when she set out to write an interesting book about a golden retriever. Goldens may be many marvellous things, but interesting is not one of them. I have had two goldens, and though much loved, I could tell you all that is worth sharing about them in five minutes or less.

When it comes down to it, the real challenge for the author of a dog book is to use art to prevent the dreaded "but it's just a freakin' dog" thought from entering the reader's head. Certainly one's own dog is never "just a freakin' dog", however the reader who must sit through a few hundred pages about someone else's dog, is very susceptible to having this very thought. I confess that I had it multiple times while I was reading The Puppy Diaries. Some dog books succeed brilliantly in getting at the heart of why dogs, strangely but wonderfully, mean so much to us. Colter by Rick Bass, comes to mind, and to a lesser extent, Following Atticus by Tom Ryan. As for The Puppy Diaries, it doesn't even come close.½

This audio book comes in a 4-CD compilation, read by Beth MacDonald, with a running time of 5 hours (unabridged).
This is a very well written book, telling us the story of the first year of Scout living with her new owners. It begins with the initial accommodation after being separated from her mother, but still living in a farm environment in Connecticut. Later the adaptation to live in New York City. The author describes in all details all her struggles to make their lives proceed with this new family member. Sometimes being very comical, sometimes sarcastic, she tells about all the services available for dogs in NYC that mimic services for humans, sometimes being even more expensive for dogs than the equivalent ones for humans. All training efforts are very well described and all the worries about health care and vet also are presented in this book. She also describes the interaction between Scout and the other dogs in the neighborhood and her personal interpretation on many situations lived by them.
The narration of Beth MacDonald makes this listening very entertaining. Excellent option for a long commuting. If you have to drive for about one hour, this should last for a week's worth of entertainment.

This is a must have in the permanent library of any dog lover.

This audiobook was published by Macmillan Audio in October 2011 and Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this audiobook for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

This is an overview of the road to Presidency Barack Obama took in getting to the White House. It's got lots of pictures of him and folks related to him in one way or another, the language is simple and explanatory, and it does a good job of educating kids on who he is and how he got the Presidency. I even learned a few things! Candidates and former presidents are presented well, without much in the way of slander or opinion on them- just simple facts.

dog has a dog dolly ...

Not much substance to this book - ok story. More than anything I enjoyed learning a bit about the author since I did not know much about her.½

Adorable puppy romps around with cute pooches.

I received this book through Early Reviewers. Dogs were part of my life while growing up.
Scout is an interesting part of the authors' family and we read what's it like during her first year. It's as if the dog and the owners grow up at the same time. I didn't care to read 3 pages of the food they found her to eat or the various toys that she played with.
My mom has a dog(Pomeranian)and he's in his second year. It was interesting to read someone else's trials and tribulations during the puppy years. There were a few things I learned from this book: 1. adolescence during the first year 2. 'bowing down' when they were ready to play.
I feel as if this is an informative book; not an emotional one.

This book offers an overview to the life of President Obama, to his policies etc. It has about 80 pages and gives a basic knowledge to its reader. Pictures are chosen carefully and are pretty emotional. Also other president candidates are presented superficially such as McCain and Bush. With colours different point of views are explained and made clear to the reader. A short and nice book, maybe for teenager to get into touch with politics.

This book describes the historical journey of Barack Obama from childhood to becoming the first African American president of the United States.

I liked the book, Was very informative. Didn't care for the style much.