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Tim Crouse, Boys on the Bus This is known as "the seminal book" about a press corps following a presidential campaign. In following the 1972 Nixon/ Mcgovern presidential race, Crouse gives an amusing 'behind the scenes' look at the journalists covering campaigns. Crouse's book is really easy to read and full of humor. Throughout the book the journalists consume a heavy amount of alcohol. But the book is a serious study on the "classic villain of every campaign year," - pack journalism, where a group of reporters follow a candidate around for weeks at a time. The book is an interesting comment on how the press and politics interconnect. It describes the poor attempts of the Nixon and Mcgovern staff to control the media, as well as the personal relationships that develop between the running candidate and the reporter. There are wonderful details in the book, such how Truman used play poker with reporters. Crouse populates the book with wonderful characters. Among them are what he refers to as "the heavies", or the 'exceptional reporters'. These include Johnny Apple of the New York Times and David Broder of The Washington Post. It is interesting and helpful to other journalists to read how these people reported. Crouse also includes how television reporting, and describes how it changed. There is a great piece on "Cronkite and Co" who are still experimenting with a developing medium. This book is 'a very good read', but is important because it gives readers an insight of how reporting takes place on a campaign trail. |
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