"But isn't it very confusing if we all send different news?"
"It gives them a choice. They all have different policies so of course they have to give different news."
Evelyn Waugh's satirical masterpiece serves as both a withering criticism of journalism and a commentary on the constant state of warfare and subjugation across the world. "Scoop" was written nearly 75 years ago, yet still retains a timeliness that is hard to fathom.
The brilliance of the cover serves as a hint and teaser for what lies within. A quick and easy read, the book offers a revealing look at what will come to pass for "journalism" in the 21st century.
"CABLE FULLER OFTENER PROMPTLIER STOP YOUR SERVICE BADLY BEATEN ALROUND LACKING HUMAN INTEREST COLOUR DRAMA PERSONALITY HUMOUR INFORMATION ROMANCE VTIALITY"
At moments, "Scoop" manages to capture the essence of a "Mad Men"-style agency dynamic melded with a noirish glimpse of the days when many newspapers fought for traction and readership in a single city.
The novel was a bit difficult to follow at the start and struggled to find its rhythm, but the persistent hilarity ("Assistant Director of Public Morals" as a title made me giggle) quickly consumes the reader, making it difficult to put down.
" ... A barely intelligible film about newspaper life in New York where neurotic men in shirt sleeves and eye-shades had rushed from telephone to tape machine, insulting and betraying one another in surroundings of unredeemed squalor."
No comments:
Post a Comment