Praise for Martin Baron’s Collision of Power
“A closely observed, gripping chronicle of politics and journalism during a decade of turmoil. . . . Monumental. . . . [Baron] shows that newsroom leadership, however devoid of ease or glamour, remains essential.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Revealing. . . . A tense, sometimes thriller tale of how the Post navigated a perilous time in journalism. . . . [Baron] clearly has researched extensively and thought deeply about how to cover the unprecedented presidency of Donald Trump. . . . Collision serves as a reminder throughout of how fragile democracy is.” —Associated Press
“A tell-all journalism memoir chronicling Baron’s highly consequential, sometimes tempestuous eight years as the Post’s executive editor.” —Vanity Fair
“Martin Baron is the era’s most respected newspaper editor. . . . [He is] slyly and often cuttingly observant. . . . Collision offers something scarcer and far more interesting than most arguments over theory, which is a vivid and detailed chronology of how his part of the press actually did its job. . . . Excellent.” —The Boston Globe
“Life at the apex of the newspaper hierarchy can be nasty, brutish and short. Baron, an avatar of traditional journalistic values, has weathered the challenges better than most. . . . Indispensable.” —Los Angeles Times
“Collision of Power visits all the stations of the cross of Baron’s spectacular makeover of the Post. . . . Lots of editors get lucky when a big story breaks their way, but nobody gets lucky long enough to accomplish what Baron has. . . . [Collision of Power’s] real service is the way it open-sources the Baron method on how to break consequential news: Obsess about getting the truth. Know your limits. Listen. Be fair. Report, report, report and report some more.” —Politico
“Especially fascinating.” —The New York Times
“A sobering account of a democracy under siege, and the muckrakers who kept government honest. . . . All the President's Men for a new generation.” —Town & Country
“Terrific.” —Poynter
“Few editors in American history have been as influential as Marty Baron, and so when he has thoughts to share, the rest of us should listen. This is an illuminating and important book about journalism and democracy.” —Jon Meacham
2023-07-19
A newspaper resists manipulation and lies.
Making an engrossing debut, Baron recounts in candid detail his more than eight-year tenure as executive editor of the Washington Post, which Jeff Bezos purchased just months after he assumed his position. Bezos’ advent as owner immediately generated unease among the staff, who wondered what his interest was in buying a major newspaper—and whether he intended to control editorial content. Baron realized quickly, though, that Bezos was making a genuine commitment to invest in the Post’s success. “The era of ceaseless cutbacks had come to a halt,” he writes. Although focused on metrics and finances, Bezos staunchly supported editorial independence and journalistic integrity, a stance that put him on a collision course with Donald Trump, who expected Bezos to rein in the Post’s coverage of him and his administration. When that did not happen, he unleashed the “raw abuse of power” for which he was notorious. Among an apparently limitless list of Trump’s grievances, “atop them all was the press, and atop the press was The Post.” Bezos, though, proved unflappable. When he met with staff, Baron saw, “he had read and absorbed every memo to the slightest detail.” He discovered, and nurtured, the dedication that shaped the newspaper’s reputation. Offering his editor’s-eye view of decision–making challenges, Baron chronicles nearly a decade of history marked by sensitive, controversial stories such as Edward Snowden’s revelations of government surveillance; investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails; Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony against Brett Kavanaugh; the murder of contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi; George Floyd’s killing, which incited considerable unrest at the paper over issues of diversity; and the consequences of Trump’s defeat in 2020. His memoir is testimony to the efforts of a devoted staff whose commitment is reflected in a motto created by the paper just one month into Trump’s presidency: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
An impassioned argument for objective journalism.