Tina Brown's Must-Click List: Bad Things Edition
For Morning Edition's occasional feature "Word of Mouth," Daily Beast Editor-in-Chief Tina Brown sits down with NPR's Steve Inskeep for a chat about a few of the best books and articles — or at least the most provocative ones — to cross her desk lately.
On the list this time around: an argument that Americans have lost their oomph; a takedown of overlong newspaper stories; an insider account of a famous moment in the financial crisis; and a political wife's memoir. Three of these recent reads come highly recommended — but about one of them, Brown doesn't mince any words.
From The Spectator: 'America The Miserable'
Like Brown, Patrick Allitt is a Brit — an Oxford-educated history professor teaching at Emory University in Atlanta — and his recent article "America the Miserable," published in the U.K. magazine The Spectator, argues that the can-do spirit that once defined America is fading, and that Americans themselves are pessimistic about their own country's future.
"He even cites the success of Avatar," Brown notes. "He writes, 'In its lumbering allegorical style it depicts an American way of life that consists in equal parts of cynicism, destruction and a brutal, galaxy-encompassing greed. You might think citizens would object to such demonisation, but they don't.' "
Of course Americans have always argued among themselves about the nation's course. And Brown allows that "it is, in a way, a fashionable thing right now for the thinking classes to write long screeds about how America's power has ended in the world" and how China's rise means ever-increasing limits on a country accustomed to being a sole superpower. But Brown also sees "a genuine malaise with unemployment, where people have a lot to be depressed about."
Still: "Being an immigrant myself, I only see how wonderful America is compared to the U.K.," Brown says. "When I call up, I always hear the rain in their voices." She puts on an Eeyorish tone: " 'Hello-o-o-o-o,' they say. And I think to myself, 'I am so happy that I left.' I don't have to hear 'Hello-o-o-o-o.' "
From Henry Paulson: 'Mr. McCain Comes To Washington'
In the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 6, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson published an exerpt from his new book, On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System. It describes the scene at the White House in September 2008, after Sen. John McCain dramatically suspended his presidential campaign and flew back to Washington, calling on all political hands to join him in rescuing the collapsing U.S. economy.
"It really was, I thought, a riveting account," Brown says. "There is a great scene in here, where McCain finally gets this meeting that he's summoned. And then what Paulson gives is an account of how, in the meeting with the president, with all the players assembled including [then-candidate] Obama, McCain had absolutely nothing to say. It was like, 'I'm here to stop the fire! Uhhhhh, yeah: Well, maybe I'll just stand here and wait for a pail.' And finally Obama says loudly ... 'I'd like to hear what Sen. McCain has to say, since we haven't heard from him yet.' "
Writes Paulson:
As [McCain] spoke, I could see Obama chuckling. McCain's comments were anticlimactic, to say the least. His return to Washington was impulsive and risky, and I don't think he had a plan in mind. If anything, his gambit only came back to hurt him, as he was pilloried in the press afterward, and in the end, I don't believe his maneuver significantly influenced the TARP legislative process.
It's a revealing look, Brown says, at an "amazing moment in politics, completely subsuming any real care for this crisis that the country was in at the time." Better yet, it's a startlingly direct-seeming bit of reportage — in a partisan era, from a Republican-appointed Treasury secretary — on an incident that left a Republican presidential candidate looking less than presidential.
"I think that, to me, is what's authentic about it," Brown says. "It did feel like a real piece of reporting, which I didn't expect."
From Jenny Sanford: 'Staying True'
The estranged wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has a political memoir, of sorts: Jenny Sanford's Staying True explains why she didn't stand by her man when he returned from a secret trip to Argentina and the mistress he'd been seeing there. Sanford joined Renee Montagne earlier this week on Morning Edition, and while many listeners and readers may have been impressed with her calm and candor, Brown isn't a fan of her book.
"I have to say I'm getting increasingly impatient with The Wronged Wives Club," Brown says. "The men they're married to are utter snakes and worms, but these women — they do buy into this stuff, and then they are so humorless about it at the end. Jenny Sanford's book is such a pious document. At some point, I really wish one of these women would begin their book and say, 'I am writing this book out of sweet revenge; my husband was a total worm, and this is payback time.' It would be a little more honest."
Instead, Brown complains, political spouses often retreat to platitudes: 'You know, 'I'm doing this for the children,' " or some such. "It is all nonsense. It is about one of two things: money or revenge. Very often both."
From The Atlantic: 'Cut This Story'
Michael Kinsley's article in the January/February issue of The Atlantic comes with a no-nonsense tag line: "Newspaper articles are too long."
And while Brown — who's been known to champion long-form journalism — has some thoughts on Kinsley's arguments, you'll have to listen to the audio of this story to find out what they are. Because we're hereby taking them to heart.
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STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Tina Brown, the editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast, has sent us another selection of writings that have grabbed her attention, things she likes to talk about that you may then talk about. We call the series Word of Mouth.
The first article on your list here of books and articles for us to check out is called "America the Miserable."
Ms. TINA BROWN (Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Beast): Yes, it's from "The Spectator" magazine in the U.K. and it's written by a professor of history at Emory, a Brit. And he's commenting about how he finds that compared to the time that he came to America in 1977, when everyone, he said, was cheerful and peppy and purposeful, he now feels that everybody here has really kind of became deflated, the sense of kind of can-do spirit in America has gone, and how very pessimistic about their country they are.
And he even cites the success of "Avatar" where - which he says in its lumbering allegorical style it depicts an American way of life that consists in equal parts of cynicism, destruction and a brutal, galaxy-encompassing greed. You might think citizens would object to such demonization, but they don't, etc, etc.
INSKEEP: I want to challenge a couple of parts of his argument, though. You talk about "Avatar" making America look bad, but Americans have always argued and debated and criticized their own actions. And he says that part of America's bad attitude is that Americans are cranky about immigrants right now. But Americans have always been arguing over immigrants and there've always been anti-immigrant groups. It's hard for me to see what's really different in America than 20 or 30 years ago, as he says.
Ms. BROWN: Well, I think one thing that's different is a general real malaise, of course, with unemployment, where people have a lot to be depressed about. It is, in a way, a fashionable thing right now for the sort of thinking classes to write long screeds about how America's power has ended in the world and about how America is never going to regain its position against China, etc, etc.
INSKEEP: Now that's one thing that is different, is the wide public perception of China as the rising power in the world.
Ms. BROWN: Yeah, that is definitely a factor, I think. Of course, you know, being an immigrant myself, I only see how wonderful America is compared to the U.K. I mean, in the U.K. for instance, I tend to think when I call up, I always hear the rain in their voices: Hell-lowww, they say. And I think to myself, I am so happy that I left. I don't have to hear Hell-lowww.
INSKEEP: Well, let's go from this article "America the Miserable" to a recollection of a miserable moment in the American economy. Henry Paulson, the former Treasury secretary, is out with a memoir that you've been reading.
Ms. BROWN: Yes, I have. Well, I read the extract in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday which was the section about Mr. McCain comes to Washington. And it really was, I thought, a riveting account. But he talks about...
INSKEEP: Let's remember - this seems like 100 years ago. John McCain, in the middle of the presidential campaign and the middle of the financial crisis said, hold everything, stop the campaign, I want everybody to come to Washington and we're going to solve this economic crisis right here.
Ms. BROWN: Right. It does seem like a million years ago, doesn't it? There is a great scene in here, where McCain finally gets this meeting that he's summoned. And then what Paulson gives is an account of how, in the meeting with the president, all the players assembled, including Obama - McCain had absolutely nothing to say. It was like, I'm here to stop the fire! Uhhhhh, yeah. Well, maybe I'll just stand here and wait for a pail. And finally, Obama says, loudly, after McCain has said, oh no, no, no, I'll wait my turn, etc -I'd like to hear what Senator McCain has to say, since we haven't heard from him yet.
And Paulson has a comment, he says: As he spoke, I could see Obama chuckling. McCain's comments were anticlimactic, to say the least. His return to Washington was impulsive and risky, and I don't think he had a plan in mind. If anything, his gambit only came back to hurt him, as he was pilloried in the press afterward, and in the end, I don't believe his maneuver significantly influenced the TARP legislative process.
Amazing moment in politics, completely subsuming any real care for this crisis that the country was in at the time.
INSKEEP: And a revealing moment in this partisan political time, where so many people see everything through a partisan lens - that you have a Republican president's Treasury secretary basically saying John McCain, his fellow Republican, wasn't very bright here; and Barack Obama - although he was being a crafty politician - looked pretty smart.
Ms. BROWN: Exactly, right. I think that's what - to me what's authentic about it. It did feel like a real piece of reporting, which I kind of didn't expect from the dome-headed Mr. Paulson.
INSKEEP: Well, let's move on to another political memoir of a sort here: Jenny Sanford's book "Staying True." We heard her on the air on MORNING EDITION earlier this week. You've also been reading her memoir.
Ms. BROWN: Well, I have and I have to say that I'm getting increasingly impatient with the Wronged Wives Club. The men they're married to are utter snakes and worms, but these women - they do buy into this stuff, and then they are so humorless about it at the end. I mean, Jenny Sanford's book is such a pious document. At some point, I really wish one of these women would begin their book and say, I am writing this book out of sweet revenge; my husband was a total worm, and this is payback time.
INSKEEP: My husband, the governor...
Ms. BROWN: It would be more honest. Instead of it's, you know, I'm doing this for the children. I'm doing this because my dignity this. I'm doing this for the political process, or whatever. It is all nonsense. It is about one of two things: money or revenge - very often both.
INSKEEP: We're getting word of mouth from Tina Brown, books and articles that have crossed her desk and they include an article about journalism, which is interesting, Tina, because you've sent us articles that emphasize narrative journalism, long stories in the past, and now you've sent us an article by Michael Kinsley and the headline is "Cut This Story."
Ms. BROWN: God, I love this piece. This is in The Atlantic, and he writes a piece about how everything is too long, and how he says that the demise of newspapers is not fully because of reasons of the economy etc, but really because newspaper articles are too long.
INSKEEP: They're boring.
Ms. BROWN: They're boring. On the internet, news articles get to the point, he says. Newspaper writing, by contrast, is encrusted with conventions that don't add to your understanding of the news. And then he goes on to parse out a paragraph from any kind of New York Times story, which is headed, "Sweeping Health Care Plan Passes House." And the sentence says, handing Obama a hard-fought victory, the House narrowly approves a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care Saturday night, advancing legislation that Democrats said could stand as their defining social policy achievement.
INSKEEP: I'm already asleep.
Ms. BROWN: Exactly right. I mean we keep hearing about bad writing on the Internet, but I have to say, writing online is a kind of a truth serum, because you really find yourself as an editor saying forget the throat clearing, get to the point, and actually it's a very good discipline for writers to remind themselves they're actually talking to readers and we haven't got the time to sit there for the sort of situational atmospherics.
INSKEEP: Although, how do you match that with what you've previously said when you have argued and defended longer journalism with lots of context and novelistic detail, and really giving people a picture of things and a sense of the story?
Ms. BROWN: Well, I think narratives should be tight as well. I know when I was writing my book on the Diana Chronicles I actually knew I had to from the very beginning get us into the room with Princess Diana and then I could, if necessary, backtrack or whatever. But you need to make readers feel that something is about to happen and do it fast.
INSKEEP: I'm compelled to mention one other thing, though. Michael Kinsley here critiques a newspaper article that runs to about 1400 and some words. His own article is 1,809 words by our official count.
Ms. BROWN: It is a long piece, but I've got to tell you that it goes like the wind. And actually, one thing I will say in defense of journalists, is nothing is as bad as the kind of prolixus dinosaurus that attacks Congressional bills. You know, if all these editors are getting laid off now, let's send them to Washington to edit the health care bill. Maybe somebody can actually read it, you know.
INSKEEP: Cut those 2,000 pages down to 20.
Ms. BROWN: Absolutely.
INSKEEP: Word of mouth from Tina Brown, Tina, always a pleasure to talk with you.
Ms. BROWN: Thank you.
INSKEEP: She's editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast and we have links to the writings she mentioned at npr.org.
(Soundbite of music) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
