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Managing Television News: A Handbook for Ethical and Effective Producing. B. William Silcock, Don Heider, and Mary T. Rogus. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007. 272 pp. $37.50 pbk. Some would argue that the days of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite have passed. No longer is the main goal of television news to inform; today, it is more about entertainment. Local news is dominated by ratings wars, sensationalism, and attractive anchors/reporters. Yet William Silcock, Don Heider, and Mary Rogus believe ethical and effective television can be produced today that would make Murrow and Cronkite proud. In Managing Television News, the authors lay out a practical guide for training quality news producers that is clear, comprehensive, and credible. This handbook for producers highlights key issues all producers must deal with and establishes the symbiotic relationship between the news team and the public. Attention is given to the importance of meeting deadlines, making decisions under pressure, writing well, managing live shots, managing people, managing the business, and managing life outside the newsroom. Consideration is also given to the ethics of producing, which is the most outstanding chapter in the text. Ethical news reporting cannot be overlooked in the world of if it bleeds, it leads. The competing pressures from the profession, the television station, and a producer's own personal code of ethics affect the ethical balance of news coverage for the viewer. Thus, it is imperative for producers and the entire news team to have an ethical framework within which to operate. With over fifty years of television news experience, the authors understand the importance of such a framework and draw from resources such as the Radio-Television News Directors Association's code of ethics and the Poynter Institute to generate ethical guidelines. The credibility of the authors is unmatched, but they do not rely on their own experiences to illustrate the lessons they have learned over the years. They have peppered the text with quotes and tips from current working professionals that reinforce the important skills and knowledge necessary to be an effective producer. The book is organized well. A number of sidebars and graphics in each chapter, coupled with headings and sub-headings, allow readers to digest small amounts of information in a structured fashion. The years of experience the authors have writing for broadcast is evident in their writing style. In the writing chapter they suggest keeping writing simple and to the point. They have followed their own advice. …
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