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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1 person found this helpful

Completely compelling

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

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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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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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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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Fascinating

Smart and funny lady with lots of great stories. Lovely reading voice too. Highly recommend

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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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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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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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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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