Kurtz, Howard

• Hot Air

  • The good news about non-fiction current events books is that, within about a year of their initial publication in trade paperback, you can find them on bargain shelves at any big bookstore for under $5. The bad news is that you usually can't find a *particular* book that you're looking for. Also, of course, since it is a "current events" book, it is typically more interesting to read right after it is published (and while it is in the news). So I broke down and bought this in trade paperback shortly after it was put out because this is a topic that fascinates me.

    Anyway, this book is really kind of a series of related short stories. Most of the chapters are constructed so as to describe the history and development of a particular show, followed by interviews with the show's participants and a few sample excerpts from the show. He does Larry King, Rush Limbaugh, Crossfire, Nightline and many others. My favorite excerpt, of course, deals with Michael Kinsley (one of my favorite writers) and his experience on Crossfire.

    Kinsley is usually a moderate on issues (which makes him a bleeding-heart liberal these days), and he is very fair-minded, meaning he can see both sides of any argument. But his experience on Crossfire, where he was forced into the "left" pigeonhole all the time, was stressful, especially when put up against Pat Buchanan. A couple of quotes from the book give you some idea of why I liked it...Kinsley on Buchanan: "When he gets mad, it's self-righteous anger. When I get made it's 'Michael, you're being childish.'" Kinsley on conservatives like Jerry Falwell: "What television wants is jovial disagreement: 'We're all pals here, just joshing around in the locker room,' when I think they are f****** liars."

    The book is filled with great quotes, great insight by Kurtz and lots of interesting history. As a whole, it is a pretty harsh criticism of the talk-show industry.

• Media Circus

  • In the same vein as his book on TV talk shows and punditry, Kurtz dissects the problem with newspaper coverage of stories, going behind the scenes to watch various stories unfold (e.g. Donald Trump, Bill Clinton's affairs, the Gulf War, etc). It is interesting to see the news from this perspective. Rarely is it easy to follow the evolution of a story, as more facts are uncovered and opinions expressed. Kurtz does a good job making a normally dry subject very interesting. If you like to devour newspapers and newsmagazines (I usually read "Time" or "Newsweek" as well as "Salon", "Slate" and "The New Republic", which is why I don't read books quite as rapidly as I used to), then you'll undoubtedly find this worthwhile.

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