Upcoming Books & Brunch discussions to focus on journalism, Oct. 21, Nov. 18
The National Press Club's Books and Brunch group will discuss books about journalists at its next two Saturday meetings at the Fourth Estate restaurant. Both discussions will begin at noon and generally last an hour or so.
On Oct. 21, the group will discuss “Mary McGrory: The Trailblazing Columnist Who Stood Washington on Its Head” by John Norris.
Amazon.com says of the book: “Before there was Maureen Dowd or Gail Collins or Molly Ivins, there was Mary McGrory. She was a trailblazing columnist who achieved national syndication and reported from the front lines of American politics for five decades. From her first assignment reporting on the Army–McCarthy hearings to her Pulitzer-winning coverage of Watergate and controversial observations of President Bush after September 11, McGrory humanized the players on the great national stage while establishing herself as a uniquely influential voice."
One aspect of her story we are likely to discuss is the ways in which she violated some of today’s strictures about the relations between journalists and sources. In addition to covering figures such as Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy, she gave them advice on running for the presidency. By this point in her career, she was a columnist, a branch of journalism that values opinion. Nevertheless, it’s hard to imagine today’s New York Times or Washington Post allowing one of its columnists to discuss strategy with a candidate over cocktails.
The Books & Brunch group is especially interested in having anyone who knew or worked with McGrory join us to share their memories and opinions, including how journalism standards have changed for better or worse since McGrory was Washington’s reigning queen of journalism.
Books and Brunch is for Club members and guests. Members are encouraged to bring guests.
Since Books & Brunch alternates between discussions of non-fiction and fiction books, the Nov. 18 discussion will be on “Star Island" by Carl Hiaasen, who can be described as a king of the “South Florida is a crazy place” school of writing, sharing the title with Dave Berry.
The “journalist” in “Star Island” is a paparazzo, "Bang" Abbott, whom we meet in the opening pages as he’s bribing ambulance attendants to let him photograph the woman they are putting into an ambulance outside a luxury hotel in Miami. Abbott was a Pulitzer-Prize-winning photographer, who had to give back his Prize. We won’t spoil the story by disclosing how that happened.
Abbott thinks the woman being loaded into the ambulance is the “habitually intoxicated and drug-addicted pop star ‘Cherry Pye,’” but it’s really a young actress, who is Pye’s stunt double hired to draw paparazzi away from the “singer.”
The novel’s plot and cast of characters are hard to describe, but the New York Times review of the book nicely describes some of the book’s characters and complications.
For more information about Books & Brunch contact Jack Williams, [email protected].