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  • Airhead

  • The Imperfect Art of Making News
  • By: Emily Maitlis
  • Narrated by: Emily Maitlis
  • Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,120 ratings)

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Airhead cover art

Airhead

By: Emily Maitlis
Narrated by: Emily Maitlis
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Summary

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Airhead, written and read by Emily Maitlis.  

As anchor for the BBC's key political news programme, Newsnight, Emily Maitlis has interviewed some of the most powerful and controversial figures on the political scene. She plans each interview meticulously, knowing what she wants to ask and where she wants it to go, but as one of the most experienced journalists in her field she knows that no interview will ever go to plan. Anything can throw it - from the atmosphere in the room to her own feelings at the time to the mood of the subject. Often she leaves the interview with an entirely different perception of the interviewee, while sometimes it is all too sadly reconfirmed. 

Airhead explores just these moments. All we normally see are the interviews, but what were the conversations that preceded them or the shouting matches that ended them? From her interviews with US Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton and the last five British Prime Ministers, to Hollywood film directors and powerful internet and entertainment moguls like Sheryl Sandberg and Simon Cowell, Emily Maitlis explores how these powerful personalities came across. In the process she throws an illuminating torch on them, not just for what they represent but as individuals in their own right - with all their flaws and charms.    

©2019 Emily Maitlis (P)2019 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Airhead

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Completely compelling

Funny, very, very honest and completely compelling. I absolutely loved this behind the scenes look at TV news.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining and illuminating

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Lends itself very well to audible (not all books work as well aloud).
An illuminating trip through a wide variety of news stories and what it is really like to bring them to the screen, the considerations of which questions to ask (or not) and the implications of that. What goes right and also what goes wrong.
Very much enjoyed it.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News by Emily Maitlis

The chapter titled Double Deaf Disco was the highlight of ‘Airhead’ - and was very funny - the same way that one song at a live gig could be worth the price of entry on its own. Emily Maitlis is anything but an airhead, she is Newsnight’s female version of Jeremy Paxman; I hope that is not received as being sexist or patronising. Most of her chapters cover interviews with important people like Trump, Blair, Dalai Lama and Bill Clinton but they are not particularly interesting. For example, contrast her impressions of Donald Trump with that of Selina Scott; Selina went after Trump big time and set the scene for how most of us think about Trump and his treatment of women. I don’t want to insult both broadcasters at the same time but Emily Maitlis is usually a far better journalist, reporter, broadcaster and interviewer than Selina but on Trump positions were reversed. The point I’m making is that an interview or chapter should only be included if it stands-out; a few are more miss than hit. The description of Dalai Lama is mocking and dull, yes his English is broken and he laughs a lot, so what ! Emily’s opinions about fellow broadcasters are far more flattering than the makers and shakers mentioned above. Are the Morgan’s and Stewart’s of this world really as ground-breaking and important as she and they think ?! The chapter on Cuba is a useful insight into the restrictions of a police state. The chapter on stalking is horrific and very powerful - Emily and other victims of stalking have my full sympathy. Russell Brand is the one interviewee who is a match for one of television’s best interviewers and normally does the upstaging; Emily’s expertise on biscuits is another amusing inclusion and so they rightly suggest, a taste for penguin biscuits can be a sign of an addictive personality - I would call their encounter a draw. The strengths of this book is that it briefly covers or refers to significant recent events including Brexit (which she appears bored by - same old !) and the Grenfell Tower Fire which she and the public were rightly moved by. Readers will come away with an understanding of the hectic pace and demands of her fascinating job and despite the book’s shortcomings, what an intelligent, interesting and capable person Emily Maitlis is. I give the book 4 stars out of 5 but 4 of the 4 stars are for four chapters alone: Double Deaf Disco; Russell Brand and his penguin biscuits; the white woman who decided she was really black; and the powerful chapter on stalking.

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  • Jo
  • 26-07-20

fantastic

I loved this book so much, made all the better by it being narrated by Emily Maitliss herself. It was interesting, funny and gave lots of insight into how the news is made. Highly recommended.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable for a news junky

As a news junky and fan I found this book really enjoyable, interesting and in insightful. It's lovely to hear Emily telling her stories.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful listen!

Wonderful , fascinating interviews by a brilliant journalist . Could not stop listening . Emily Maitlis is so perceptive and written with a huge amount of insight . At the same time this book is hugely entertaining . I enjoyed every minute of this book.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Very interesting

Really enjoyed most of the book. I struggled to get into it during the first few chapters with an unusual format and slightly monotonic delivery, but then I did and found it fascinating. It's really a collection of short stories which made for good bedtime listening. More background on how the rest of her work plays out and how the programme is constructed would definitely have been good, but I enjoyed the snapshots.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting behind the scenes stories

Enjoyable and insightful stories. An easy and entertaining listen about what goes on behind the scenes.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant book, and exceptionally delivered

At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, this is an enchanting account of a series of extraordinary fascinating situations. Very well written, and flawlessly read.

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Brilliant!

Engaging, funny, sad and poignant all in the same chapter at times! Loved it x

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