The amusing thing about the Primary Colors “outrage” is that -and apologies to fellow Clausers because I’ve mentioned this before- the fact that Joe wrote it was fairly obvious for those who had closely followed his work (and, yes, I won a few bets). The book becomes especially vivid in the New York scenes, implying a scribe who’d served time in Gotham. But there’s also a skepticism about the righteousness of folks in the political world that reflected his column in New York magazine, a bemusement that working the hyper cynical NYC political scene surely fed.. Finally, a couple of key stylistic tells, some of which, I fear, have leaked into my own stuff. Alarmingly, one of the key points of that book - that our politicians and politics have become controlled by a disconnected and amoral consultant class- has metastisized to the point where it has brought us to this hideous crossroads.
Tom Wolfe got put on the grill by the Kennedys when he was a tyro reporter for the Springfield Republican (sic) for reporting on something he heard then-Senator Kennedy said that was, well, inconvenient. He stood firm against the pressure and his editor was happy to have some news that the Democrats didn't like. I forget the details, but it mattered at the time.
And then there is Olivia Nuzzi, who is breaking new ground is the erosion of journalistic ethics. Ho boy . . . . At least Clare Boothe Luce did it with style, y'know?
My question on ‘Anonymous’ was always - was that always the byline or was that an editorial / publishing decision the give the book a more ‘Deep Throat’ authenticity? I remember reading it and thinking this guy (presumably) really knows what is going on…. Riveting.
Ethics are at best a floating board, that one tries to keep stable, without being thrown off.
Tim Russert to my knowledge, thought long and hard to get people to answer a question he posed. He was also amongst those who did not go for gotcha, but once something came out, he was not adverse to pouncing on it.
What you did sounds perfectly honorable to me, as for those who pounced on you for Primary Colors, they were just jealous, that you had a very well selling book and they didn't.
The amusing thing about the Primary Colors “outrage” is that -and apologies to fellow Clausers because I’ve mentioned this before- the fact that Joe wrote it was fairly obvious for those who had closely followed his work (and, yes, I won a few bets). The book becomes especially vivid in the New York scenes, implying a scribe who’d served time in Gotham. But there’s also a skepticism about the righteousness of folks in the political world that reflected his column in New York magazine, a bemusement that working the hyper cynical NYC political scene surely fed.. Finally, a couple of key stylistic tells, some of which, I fear, have leaked into my own stuff. Alarmingly, one of the key points of that book - that our politicians and politics have become controlled by a disconnected and amoral consultant class- has metastisized to the point where it has brought us to this hideous crossroads.
Thanks for sharing. Loved the movie 😃
One of your finest pieces, Joe
Tom Wolfe got put on the grill by the Kennedys when he was a tyro reporter for the Springfield Republican (sic) for reporting on something he heard then-Senator Kennedy said that was, well, inconvenient. He stood firm against the pressure and his editor was happy to have some news that the Democrats didn't like. I forget the details, but it mattered at the time.
And then there is Olivia Nuzzi, who is breaking new ground is the erosion of journalistic ethics. Ho boy . . . . At least Clare Boothe Luce did it with style, y'know?
My question on ‘Anonymous’ was always - was that always the byline or was that an editorial / publishing decision the give the book a more ‘Deep Throat’ authenticity? I remember reading it and thinking this guy (presumably) really knows what is going on…. Riveting.
Ethics are at best a floating board, that one tries to keep stable, without being thrown off.
Tim Russert to my knowledge, thought long and hard to get people to answer a question he posed. He was also amongst those who did not go for gotcha, but once something came out, he was not adverse to pouncing on it.
What you did sounds perfectly honorable to me, as for those who pounced on you for Primary Colors, they were just jealous, that you had a very well selling book and they didn't.