News Is a Verb: Journalism at the End of the Twentieth Century

Pete Hamill's fed up with the decline in quality of America's newspapers, and he's got a solution. News Is a Verb calls upon editors to focus on accuracy, leaving the "instant" reportage to TV shows. He also stresses the need for local papers to pay attention to the issues that affect their communities, as well as the importance of reaching out to women readers and the new wave of immigrants looking for ways to assimilate American culture.

As a lifelong newspaperman, Hamill is dedicated to the idea that if something didn't happen, it isn't news. Artificial celebrities such as Donald Trump should not be given valuable column inches simply because they exist; likewise, important figures such as Bill Clinton should not be reduced to gossip fodder. Unsubstantiated rumors, he makes plain, are not newsworthy. Anybody who cares about the state of contemporary journalism will find much to appreciate in Pete Hamill's straightforward appraisal.