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 | | Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism by Eric Burns ISBN-10: 9781586484286 ISBN-10: 1-58648-428-1 ISBN-13: 9781586484286 ISBN-13: 978-1-58648-428-6 Paperback 2007-02-12 PublicAffairs Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Infamous Scribblers is a perceptive and witty exploration of the most volatile period in the history of the American Press. Fox News Channel's Eric Burns tells of Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Sam Adams, George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson--our Founding Fathers who were among the leading journalists of era, as well as among the leading manipulators of journalists. The journalism of the era was often partisan, fabricated, and scandalous. Despite its flaws--even because of some of them--the participants hashed out publicly the issues that would lead America to declare its independence and to determine what sort of nation it would become. | ||
Reviews | ||
Newspapers are still a rag "Infamous Scribblers" was a fantastic read. Newspapers haven't changed much since colonial times. the best part of the book was the historical facts brought up, and the infighting of politicians and printers, among themselves and with each other. It brought out things about our founding fathers that aren't in your regular history books. There is a very great likeness of events and people then and now, The one big difference today is newspapers don't attack like they did then. They didn't hold back much at all and would keep it up and not backdown. Give it a try I think you will enjoy it....Ken | ||
Flat Covering the lies and slanders in US journalism from colonial times through the revolution and Federalist time periods, the book delivers an overview of the major events during these segments of US history. There is little background delivered, just a series of vignettes as Burns chronologically delivers news coverage of the important events of the time. Given the invective inherent in the journalism of the time, I expected a more vibrant work than Mr. Burns provides. For all of our history up to the War of 1812, the US was an untested experiment, and the population split into decidedly rancorous, polar opposite factions, that sometimes violently disagreed with each other. This was when our 2 party system of government was formed and each faction had their own journals, gazettes and newspapers which behaved quite atrociously. Somehow Eric Burns delivers coverage of the events with little or no passion. The result is a remarkably flat read that is quite difficult to get through. This book does sparkle at certain points, particularly with reference to Thomas Jefferson. Burns reveals Jefferson as something of a rogue, a manipulator of people, facts and freedoms. These pages were quite interesting as Burns delivers a Jefferson who is quite human. But the views of the rest of the Founding Fathers are traditional, and, as a result, repetitious of what many, many others have already written. Working as he does, from actual newspaper accounts at the time, replete with the aforementioned published lies and slander, I had hoped he would deliver views of Adams, Morris, Livingston, Washington, Franklin, et al., with more of what he provided for Jefferson: Realism. This was pretty juicy stuff, but no, he simply quotes from 30-40 journals with little or no analysis. The result is a very flat read, one that the author himself does not participate in and one that is repetitious of so many others that it is difficult to stay with. | ||
Not a History of Journalism, But Journalism as History The early chapters are extremely well-researched and well-written. Unfortunately, as work progressed and the deadline approached, the quality declined -- but only from an A+ to a B-. A little too much clipping and pasting of what other people wrote or what early newspapers published; a few too many gaps in historical context. By the last chapter, George Washington is reported to be retiring to Mount Vernon in 1787. (It was 1797, you can look it up; but I thought that was the job of authors and editors.) Nevertheless, recommended reading for anyone interested in American history. | ||
Ignore Author's Fox Connection The cover claims the author as connected with Fox News and after I received it, I feared a right-wing diatribe. Au contraire. He is a social historian and the stories are a lot of fun. | ||
Great Read I absolutely loved this book. It is exactly the kind of experience I want when I read history. I learned a lot, and had fun doing it. Eric Burns obviously knows his subject, and his style is relaxed and entertaining. I did a little research on him, and as it turns out, he was named by the "Washington Journalism Review" as one of the best writers in the history of broadcast journalism. This book is a little over 400 pages, excluding the notes and bibliography. Burns takes the reader from the first American newspaper in 1690, called "Publick Occurences Both Foreign and Domestic", and shows the evolution of the newspaper through the pre-revolutionary period, the War for Independence, and the post-revolutionary period. In the hands of a less-skilled writer, this subject matter could be dry. In the hands of Burns, it is a page-turner. Like many others, I began this book longing for the good old days of journalism. You know the ones, back when the media was not biased, back when newspapers did not sling mud, and engage in vicious gossip. After reading this book, I realize that things were a whole lot worse than they are now. Today's newspapers are models of balance and fairness compared to U.S. newspapers in the late 18th century. The newspaper was an important tool in the days of the United States infancy. Prior to the revolution, Whig editors used their papers to stir up patriotism, or even hatred of the British. Tory papers aimed to counter, or at least cool, the initial fires of revolution. There did not appear to be any papers that were neutral, and that reaffirms for us the polarizing nature of this debate. One didn't sit on the fence. Once the war was over, the papers were used as political weapons by the Federalists and the Republicans. The sheer nastiness will astound you. Burns' book takes us through these heated policy debates, and gives us a feel for how hot the passions ran. You will also learn about Benjamin Franklin's stint as an editor. One of his grandsons, Benjamin Franklin Bache, would grow up to be an influential and controversial editor. You'll learn about the first sex scandal involving a public figure caught in an adulterous relationship, and see how he used the media to try and repair his damaged reputation. Interestingly, the journalist who broke the nation's first sex scandal also broke the second one. I think that most readers would enjoy this book. Sure, it will help if you are interested in history or in journalism, but that is not necessary. Anyone who likes a good story will like this story. Best of all, it's true! Highly recommended. | ||