Newsroom Confidential

Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life

By: Margaret Sullivan

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Margaret Sullivan

"Lisa Flanagan narrates journalist Margaret Sullivan's memoir/manifesto authoritatively....and gives this important audiobook the seriousness it merits." - AudioFile Magazine

Prologue read by the author

Over her four decades of working in newsrooms big and small, Margaret Sullivan has become a trusted champion and critic of the American news media. In this bracing memoir, Sullivan traces her life in journalism and how trust in the mainstream press has steadily eroded.

Sullivan began her career at the Buffalo News, where she rose from summer intern to editor in chief. In Newsroom Confidential she chronicles her years in the trenches battling sexism and throwing elbows in a highly competitive newsroom. In 2012, Sullivan was appointed the public editor of The New York Times, the first woman to hold that important role. She was in the unique position of acting on behalf of readers to weigh the actions and reporting of the paper's staff, parsing potential lapses in judgment, unethical practices, and thorny journalistic issues. Sullivan recounts how she navigated the paper’s controversies, from Hillary Clinton's emails to Elon Musk's accusations of unfairness to the need for greater diversity in the newsroom. In 2016, having served the longest tenure of any public editor, Sullivan left for the Washington Post, where she had a front-row seat to the rise of Donald Trump in American media and politics.

With her celebrated mixture of charm, sharp-eyed observation, and nuanced criticism, Sullivan takes us behind the scenes of the nation's most influential news outlets to explore how Americans lost trust in the news and what it will take to regain it.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

I miss the good old newspaper days

Really enjoyed some of the inside scoop here in Newsroom Confidential. I’m old enough to miss reading Ellen Goodman regularly and Molly Ivins witty opinions. We need more independent voices out there. Thanks, Margaret!

Her career building was fascinating but she seemed to have lost momentum towards the end.

I really enjoyed this book. My only criticism is the last several chapters that talked repeatedly about what the role of the press should be.

Essential reading

Sullivan insightfully comments on the achievements and failures of journalism in 21st-century America and calls urgently for the defense of democracy.

For Aspiring Journalists

Woulda Shoulda Coulda.and Did Pretty Well career wise about sums it up for me. Observations about the press coverage of Hillary 2016 & the media frenzy about Ratings Bonanza covering Trump despite damage to country very perceptive.

Interesting dive into the media world

I came looking for insight into the mechanisms, motivations, and challenges of modern media.

This book delivered that, along with a good personal touch from Margaret, someone who I appear to share many values with (honesty, curiosity, and practicality).