I remember watching the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour and finding it fascinating because they really didn't seem to side with anyone, they just reported the truth, every day. I didn't realize at the time what hard work it is to be an unbiased investigative reporter, but as I learned throughout my own forays into journalism, it's worth the time and effort. RIP Mr MacNeil.
Obituary Note: Robert MacNeil
Robert MacNeil, the Canadian-born journalist and author "who delivered sober evening newscasts for more than two decades on PBS" as co-anchor with Jim Lehrer (who died in 2020) of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, later expanded as The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, died April 12, the New York Times reported. He was 93.
MacNeil attended Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. producer saw him in a school production of Othello and hired him to act in CBC radio productions and eventually a daily radio soap opera. After graduating, he moved to England to write plays, but quickly turned to journalism to make money.
MacNeil spent time at NBC News early in his career before joining the fledgling Public Broadcasting Service in 1971. "He brought with him a news sensibility honed at the BBC, where he had worked in the interim, and became a key figure in shaping U.S. public television's in-depth and evenhanded approach to news coverage," the Times wrote, adding that "a pairing with Lehrer in 1973 to cover the Senate Watergate hearings for PBS was unpopular with the operators of many local public stations, who thought the prime-time broadcasts weren't appropriate evening fare. But the two men's serious demeanor was a hit with viewers, and the broadcasts won an Emmy Award and eventually launched an enduring collaboration."
MacNeil became an American citizen in 1997 and was made an officer in the Order of Canada the same year. He reflected on his life as a dual citizen in a 2003 memoir, Looking for My Country: Finding Myself in America.
In interviews for the Archive of American Television in 2000 and 2001, he was asked how he wanted to be remembered. "Television has changed journalism, utterly, not just for television, but for print and everybody else," he said. "It's changed the whole culture and ethos of journalism. And to have been able hold the line--perhaps Canute-like--against a tide that's going to engulf us all in the end, for a few years, has been a source of gratification to me."
He also chaired the board of the MacDowell Colony (now known as MacDowell), the retreat for artists, writers, and musicians in Peterborough, N.H., from 1993 to 2010. During MacDowell's centennial celebration in 2007, MacNeil told Jeffrey Brown: "The real importance of art is that it is the greatest expression of American ideal of freedom. Artists are intellectually and creatively freer than anybody."
My dad (RIP) worked for the Iowa State Education Association for decades, and I believe he'd be proud of them joining with publishers and others to fight this horrible book ban that would destroy libraries in the Iowa schools and would target LGTBQ youth who are seeking books that reflect their journey of discovery without shame or censure.
Five Publishers Join Suit Against Iowa Book Ban
Five publishers have joined the lawsuit filed last November 30 against Iowa over its book banning and anti-GLBQT law, meaning that plaintiffs now include all the Big Five U.S. publishers. The Iowa law would forbid school libraries and classrooms from carrying books describing orshowing a "sex act," with the exception of religious texts like the Bible (editors note, this is rank hypocrisy, as the Bible is rife with sex, rape, murder, etc); prohibit educators from discussing "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" with students from kindergarten through sixth grade; and require school administrators to notify parents when students ask to change anything relating to their gender identity, such as their names or pronouns.
The five additional publishers are Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks. Plaintiffs who filed the original lawsuit were Penguin Random House, authors Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Malindo Lo, and Jodi Picoult, the Iowa State Education Association, a high school student, her parent, and three educators; that suit focused on the book-banning aspects of the law. Another suit focusing on the anti-GLBQT aspects of the law was filed by seven students and the GLBT Youth in Iowa Schools Task Force, supported by the ACLU and Lambda Legal.
The five additional plaintiffs issued a joint statement yesterday: "We as publishers are uniting in our unwavering commitment to stand with educators, librarians, students, authors, and readers against the unconstitutional censorship measures being imposed by the state of Iowa. The alarming rise of book bans across the country demands our collective action. Now, more than ever, we must stand firmly with our authors and readers to defend the fundamental right to read and the freedom of expression."
Late last year, a federal district court judge issued a preliminary injunction against most of the Iowa law, except for the parental notification part because he found the plaintiffs didn't have standing since they already used the names and pronouns they wanted. The state of Iowa has appealed the injunction, and plaintiffs filed a brief yesterday in the federal court of appeals requesting an oral argument, continuing to maintain that the law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The law was supposed to take effect early this year, and in the run-up to that deadline, many hundreds of books were removed from school libraries, including some by the four author plaintiffs. The judge called that part of the law "incredibly broad" and "unlikely to satisfy the First Amendment under any standard of scrutiny."
I loved this book, and I enjoyed the TV series that was short-lived but based on this book. So I'm looking forward to this latest iteration.
TV: Dark Matter
Apple TV+ has released a trailer for the upcoming sci-fi series Dark Matter https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscQbblu0I6a81cRknEg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6nBCZelpoMLg-gVdw, based on Blake Crouch's 2016 novel. Deadline reported that Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly lead a cast that includes Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, Dayo Okeniyi and Oakes Fegley. The series launches in May. Crouch serves as creator, executive producer, showrunner, and writer alongside executive producers Matt Tolmach and David Manpearl for Matt Tolmach Productions.
Wow, this ought to be exciting, a CRA musical! I can hardly wait to see how well this does on Broadway!
Crazy Rich Asians Heads to Broadway
Kevin Kwan’s glitzy, gossipy, gloriously fun Crazy Rich Asians is set to become a Broadway musical directed by Jon M. Chu, who also helmed the 2018 film adaptation, and friends, I could not be more excited. The music from the film is excellent—I defy you to watch the wedding scene backed by Kina Grannis’s cover of “Fools Rush In” with dry eyes—and the story lends itself to colorful sets and costumes that should be stunning on stage. Chu is no stranger to musicals (he directed the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights as well as the two-part Wicked adaptation coming to the big screen later this year), and he’s got a strong team with playwright Leah Nanako Winkler, Helen Park (who was nominated for a Tony for her score of the KPOP musical), Amanda Green (the first woman to be elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America), and Singaporean songwriter and producer Tat Tong. The confidence index is high on this one.
I was, during my post grad school years, a huge fan of Tom Wolfe's books, and I can hardly wait to see what Netflix does with their adaptation of A Man in Full.TV: A Man in Full
Netflix has released the official
trailer for A Man in Full https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscQbbkL0I6a81cRF1GA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6nBCZH1poMLg-gVdw, based on Tom Wolfe's 1998 novel and
starring Jeff Daniels as a real estate titan who's going broke,
Deadline reported. The six-episode limited series from David E. Kelley and
Regina King premieres May 2 on the streaming network. A Man in Full is
written and executive produced by Kelley, who serves as showrunner.
Here's another adaptation that I'm looking forward to, especially since it stars my favorite British actress Emma Thompson.
TV: Down Cemetery Road
Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson will star in Down Cemetery Road, a thriller series for Apple TV+ based on the 2003 book by Mick Herron. Deadline reported that "the project comes to Apple following the streamer's work with Herron on Slow Horses, its hugely popular espionage drama based on his Slough House novels."
"Down Cemetery Road has all the hallmarks of Mick Herron's funny and acerbic writing, and I'm delighted we will be bringing it to life for Apple TV+ with such a stellar cast," said Jay Hunt, Apple TV+'s Creative director, Europe. "Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson will make it an unmissable companion piece for Slow Horses on our service."
On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.
Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe - a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution - who she can't help but find herself falling for.
Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?
Kristen Ciccarelli’s Heartless Hunter is the thrilling start to The Crimson Moth duology, a romantic fantasy series where the only thing more treacherous than being a witch...is falling in love.
I enjoyed Rune's complicated life, and though I thought Gideon was an asshat and an idiot much of the time, I also enjoyed his falling in love journey with Rune. Though the ending is left wide open for a sequel, I like the fact that the author made sure that the protagonists were safe and that all the mystery surrounding the witch ruler who escaped the murderous purge was solved, though in a roundabout way. I've also got to mention that the cover design for the hardback edition of this book is beautiful, stunning really, and will certainly draw the eye of YA and adult readers alike. Its also important to mention that the witches vs witch hunters stands in here for those reviled by society in the past century, for being different and loving outside of society's rigid rules. There's also a strong WWII flavor to the novel, in that the witch hunters are intent on demonizing and wiping out one group of people on whom they, and society, can lay their fears and anger for their lot in life. So witch hunters=Nazis and witches=Jews. I'd give this excellent novel an A, and recommend it to anyone who is interested in society's outliers and how they're treated during tough times.
At First Spite by Olivia Dade is a delicious YA-ish romance that sizzles with saucy dialog and undeniable chemistry between the male and female protagonists. I wasn't expecting this the razor-edged wit and ferocious plus sized female protagonist to keep her spine straight during the roller coaster plot of this book, but Dade surprised me by being uncompromising with her main characters. Here's the blurb:
Having worked in the healthcare industry, I know that there are a lot of bullying and controlling doctors out there who are arrogant enough to believe that they're the only ones who know how to run a life properly, and that is exactly the type of character we get with Matthew, who felt compelled to persuade his brother Johnny to leave Athena, Johnny's intended, at the altar because he doesn't believe they're a good match. Much of the book explores Matthews sterile and lonely life as a pediatrician, and the inevitable crush that he develops toward Athena, who is understandably depressed and lonely herself. The sparks fly between the two, and when they come together, muy caliente! The HEA wasn't soupy or overly sentimental and I found Athena's journey to be authentic and helped build her character a great deal by the end. I'd give this joyful and fun novel an A, and recommend it to anyone who has been jilted and discovered that it ended up being a good thing.
When Lucinda Peterson’s recently perfected formula for a salve to treat croup goes missing, she’s certain it’s only the latest in a line of misfortunes at the hands of a rival apothecary. Outraged and fearing financial ruin, Lucy turns to private investigator Jonathan Thorne for help. She just didn’t expect her champion to be so . . . grumpy?
A single father and an agent at Tierney & Co., Thorne accepts missions for a wide variety of employers—from the British government to wronged wives. None have intrigued him so much as the spirited Miss Peterson. As the two work side by side to unmask her scientific saboteur, Lucy slips ever so sweetly under Thorne’s battered armor, tempting him to abandon old promises.
With no shortage of suspects—from a hostile political group to an erstwhile suitor—Thorne’s investigation becomes a threat to all that Lucy holds dear. As the truth unravels around them the cure to their problems is clear: they must face the future together.
On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by night, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it―she can’t do the job alone.
Calling on some of the city’s most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the sinister, glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.
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