[.ca] Reporting Back: Notes on Journalism (ISBN 1582432864)

same old same old:
Lillian Ross's contributions to the Talk of the Town and to the full-length piece are estimable, but she was never one of great talents at the magazine. She has a real flair, though, for recycling her old work. The more you reread it, the thinner it becomes.

Lousy:
Once upon a time I used to revere Lillian Ross for her acerbic portrait of Hemingway and her up and down account of the making of John Huston's film of The Red Badge of Courage. Now when I read her work, in the New Yorker or in omnibuses like this one, I see she is not a great writer, but am ordinary one, and in REPORTING BACK a woman who cannot stop herself from patting herself on the back till it hurts. Don't think I've ever read such a self-congratulatory work. How do people stand her? She says she doesn't like to write about people unless she likes them, but from her writing, one gets the impression she feels superior to everyone, always quoting the little non sequiturs people make by mistake, to make them look stupid. The idol has feet of clay.

I was misled...:
The title references 'journalism'. Maybe, but this is not weighty journalism. These are nothing more than puff pieces regarding (mainly) pop culture icons of the past and present. There is certainly nothing wrong with that - but call it what it is. I also felt cheated. It appears the original articles are not reprinted in whole, but are abridged, and only utilized as examples of journalistic writing styles by Ms. Ross. That's OK too - but I was fooled. (And if they are reproduced in whole - then I feel doubly cheated). And I was disappointed. I was repeatedly reminded that Ms. Ross is a great writer and journalist. Yet I find her writing to be clumsy and stilted. E.B. White she is not. Fine. Each writer has his or her own style. But a 'great' writer? I have been let down. I'm really not trying to slam Ms. Ross or her book. My dissatisfactions may be that since I don't read "The New Yorker" often, I am not so intimate with 'The Talk of the Town' section. I guess the column is merely for light reading and consists of 'fun' writings. Great! Just please don't continue masquerading it as journalism. When I think of journalistic writings, I think more of the Theodore White, William Shirer and David Halberstam variety. But these selections are more of the Larry King class - pure softball. In the end, it is an enjoyable book if you're interested in short airy articles on people such as Chaplin, Hemingway, Norman Mailer, John Huston, Benny Goodman, Robin Williams, et al. And there are also easygoing pieces on Adlai Stevenson, Hubert Humphrey, Robert Kennedy, and so on and so forth... A nice pleasurable read, but lacking depth.

Journalism students will find this revealing:
Author Lillian Ross has been writing for the New Yorker for half a century, creating profiles and essays which have won her an audience of admirers. Reporting Back questions the attributes which contribute to good reporting and good journalism, with Ross' years of experience backing pieces which blend humor with sharp observation. Journalism students will find this revealing.