Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News - Hardcover

Maitlis, Emily

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0241362857 ISBN 13: 9780241362853

Publisher: Michael Joseph, 2019

Synopsis

THE TIMES & DAILY MAIL TOP 100 BOOKS OF SUMMER

'A WONDERFULLY SANE BOOK FOR OUR UNHINGED TIMES' Simon Schama

The insightful, hilarious and engrossing memoir from one of our most eminent TV broadcasters, Newsnight's Emily Maitlis, as she takes you behind the scenes of the biggest news stories in recent years.

'A deliciously funny book about the high-wire act of broadcasting and the madness that surrounds it' The Times
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The things that are said on camera are only part of the story.

Behind every interview there is a backstory. How it came about. How it ended. The compromises that were made. The regrets, the rows, the deeply inappropriate comedy.

Making news is an essential but imperfect art, and it rarely goes according to plan.

I never expected to find myself wandering around the Maharani of Jaipur's bedroom with Bill Clinton or invited to the Miss USA beauty pageant by its owner, Donald Trump. I never expected to be thrown into a provincial Cuban jail, or to be drinking red wine at Steve Bannon's kitchen table or spend three hours in a lift with Alan Partridge.

I certainly didn't expect the Dalai Lama to tell me the story of his most memorable poo.

The beauty of television is its ability to simplify, but that's also its weakness: it can distil everything down to one snapshot, one soundbite. Then the news cycle moves on.

Airhead is my step back from the white noise. Before and after the camera started rolling, this is what really happened.
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A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Smart, funny and brilliantly told stories about what goes on behind the scenes of television news. A joy' Elizabeth Day

'Emily is a superb writer' The Sunday Times

'Maitlis paints a vivid picture of the intensity and unpredictability that come with her assignments . . . Her writing is excellent: precise, economical and accessible' Guardian

'Revelatory, riveting and frequently hilarious. A joy from beginning to end' James O'Brien

'Emily has a style that would make you enjoy her report on the end of the world. Absolutely irresistible' Jeremy Vine

About this title

Review:

Anyone who has spent this election campaign shouting at the TV needs a copy of Emily Maitlis's Airhead in their Christmas stocking. It's funny and subtly smart, taking the reader behind the camera (Guardian, Best Politics Books of 2019)

Maitlis has written a deliciously funny book about the high-wire act of broadcasting and the madness that surrounds it. Lots of famous presenters have written books but Maitlis' is different . . . Irresistible. She sounds great company . . . Her book's a romp (The Times)

Maitlis paints a vivid picture of the intensity and unpredictability that come with her assignments, which punctures the perceived glamour of life reporting the news . . . Her writing is excellent: precise, economical and accessible (Guardian)

She is a superb writer, used to throwing together pacy, engaging scripts at a second's notice. Each chapter is dedicated to one of her interviews - it is a sort of greatest-hits compilation (The Sunday Times)

[Emily] is so absolutely of the moment, a quasi-memoir could not be better timed. Airhead is a compilation of her greatest hits. And boy are there many . . . narrated in her snappy, chatty style . . . her asides are acerbic, her observations hilarious (Evening Standard)

She recounts the interviews of her career, from the great, the good and the questionable, offering insights into the questions that illuminated their characters and the ones they dodged. A chapter on being the target of a stalker reveals her more vulnerable side in this compelling book (Observer)

Airhead is, like its author, funny, wise, self-deprecating and insightful (You Magazine)

Smart, funny and brilliantly told stories about what goes on behind the scenes of television news. A joy (Elizabeth Day)

Revelatory, riveting and frequently hilarious. A joy from beginning to end (James O'Brien)

A remarkable journey through the jungle of newsmaking. It combines razor-sharp analysis with compelling narrative drive and wit. A must-read

About the Author:

Emily Maitlis presents the BBC Flagship nightly current affairs show Newsnight and specialises in election coverage in the UK and the USA. The Canadian born Sheffield raised British television presenter and journalist began her career in Hong Kong. She lives in London with one husband, two boys, and a large whippet.

About this edition

• Publisher: Michael Joseph
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0241362857
• ISBN 13: 9780241362853
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352