Merchants of Truth: Inside the News Revolution

Product Description

Merchants of Truth by Jill Abramson, former editor of The New York Times, is the gripping and definitive in-the-room account of the revolution that has swept the news industry over the last decade.It tells the story of two maverick upstarts - BuzzFeed and VICE - whose viral technology, dedication to millennial tastes and total disregard for the old journalistic values turn them rapidly into billion-dollar businesses. Simultaneously, it reveals the seismic changes that are taking place within two of the world?s most venerable news institutions - The New York Times and The Washington Post - who are forced ultimately to compromise the founding principles of their work - objectivity and impartiality - in order to survive the digital hurricane.Featuring intimate access to the titans of the media industry - Jonah Peretti, Shane Smith, Arthur Sulzberger, Jeff Bezos - and the dynamic editors and heroic reporters working for them, it takes us on a blistering journey through the digital revolution, culminating in the rise of 'fake news? and the election of President Trump.Ultimately, Merchants of Truth shows us that good journalism is hard, and the cost of news is high. Now, we are paying the price.Merchants of Truth by Jill Abramson, former editor of The New York Times, is the gripping and definitive in-the-room account of the revolution that has swept the news industry over the last decade.It tells the story of two maverick upstarts - BuzzFeed and VICE - whose viral technology, dedication to millennial tastes and total disregard for the old journalistic values turn them rapidly into billion-dollar businesses. Simultaneously, it reveals the seismic changes that are taking place within two of the world?s most venerable news institutions - The New York Times and The Washington Post - who are forced ultimately to compromise the founding principles of their work - objectivity and impartiality - in order to survive the digital hurricane.Featuring intimate access to the titans of the media industry - Jonah Peretti, Shane Smith, Arthur Sulzberger, Jeff Bezos - and the dynamic editors and heroic reporters working for them, it takes us on a blistering journey through the digital revolution, culminating in the rise of 'fake news? and the election of President Trump.Ultimately, Merchants of Truth shows us that good journalism is hard, and the cost of news is high. Now, we are paying the price.
Jill Abramson was the executive editor of The New York Times, the first woman to hold its most senior editorial position, between 2011 and 2014. During her seventeen years at the paper she was also the first woman to serve as its managing editor and as its Washington bureau chief. Before joining the Times, she spent nine years at the Wall Street Journal. She is now a senior lecturer at Harvard University and writes a bi-weekly column for the Guardian about US politics. She lives in New York City.