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Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour, and the (Ongoing, Imperfect, Complicated) Triumph of Women in TV News

By Sheila Weller

ISBN: 1594204276
Publisher: Penguin Press
Publication Date: 9/30/2014
Format: Other
My Rating: 4 Stars

A special thank you to First to Read Penguin Group, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sheila Weller is a bestselling author and award-winning magazine journalist specializing in women’s lives, social issues, cultural history, and feminist investigative. Her seventh book, The News Sorority: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour, a well-researched and written book about three extraordinary women.

Weller portrays three revolutionary women: ABC's Diane Sawyer, the first female correspondent for 60 Minutes; Katie Couric, who conquered the world as Today cohost; and CNN's Christiane Amanpour in a male-dominated realm of network news.

All three of these women are legends, today's professional heroines; modeling a reality of success that was different from past models. The more powerful they became, the more interested in people they became. They are compassionate, in the stories they have told, and in their lives.

As Weller takes as inside look at these prominent women who remained profoundly committed to telling the stories of ordinary Americans, unfairly besieged victims, people in cataclysms and crises, fascinating celebrities both worthy and spoiled, world leaders both benign and heinous.

These leaders passionately kept up their commitments to their families, friends, and needy strangers through both improvised and formal philanthropies. They remembered what they had pushed past—grief, danger, and tragedy, and the more they saw and reported, the more they folded the new experiences into those primary lessons.

“Intensely competitive, whatever their idiosyncrasies, whatever their egos, whatever their aggressiveness and ambition, they retained an experienced kernel of humbling reality and it controlled their choices and the consciences. From world news, 9/11, Columbine, earthquakes, corruptions, cancer, to poverty, we got the news from them. And we also got from them what is underneath the news, what is underneath all news: We got humanity."

Weller writes in a journalistic style, versus narrative nonfiction, which I found appealing, written in a balanced style with the vast amount of research and interviews, with humor. Even though she did not interview these three women directly, through interviews of many, she was able to attain insights and memories, while maintaining control over her writing.

A book of three heroines, who came of age in the 1960s and '70s—to demonstrate to readers, how they worked and how they made it to prime time. In a difficult time and a hard business these women put themselves out there where millions expected perfection, against the odds.

I enjoyed reading about a highly competitive world, each woman with their own unique strengths. Their focused ambition, and high quality of work as they strive to be better in a man’s world.

Very well written and researched, and an interesting reporting style. The format was very well organized with the range of years (which was quite interesting), as in this age bracket focusing on each woman with extensive research and references. Inspiring, three remarkable women - News buffs will love it!