The Piano Player in the Brothel: The Future of Journalism…
The book’s title says it all, this is a book for journalists, describing their job. The title basically refers to the classic joke in which a father tells his son that anything is better than being a journalist, including being a piano player in the brothel.
The Piano Player in the Brothel is a reflection on the practice of journalism and the responsibility it entails in the interpretation of an ever-changing and increasingly complex world. The author’s thoughts are interspersed with data and anecdotes on the history of journalism and its role as a great instrument of cultural diffusion, a warrantor of freedom of speech, and, hence, a protector of democracy.
The book is a slim collection of essays, depicts Spain’s current situation, and is written in an entertaining way.
From its origins, journalism has struggled with political power -always interested in turning information into simple propaganda- and for that purpose it has developed some basic principles: truthfulness, verification, independence, public commitment and loyalty towards the citizens.
“What is the future of journalism? Cebrián (Red Doll), a novelist and one of the original editors of Spain’s newspaper of record, El País, analyzes the changes to the traditional newspaper in particular and to the profession in general. In this collection of insightful and instructive essays, he addresses the challenges journalists face in this age of instantaneous electronic media. The illustrious newspaperman brings a sense of history and gravitas to his writing, a result of living and working in a country transitioning from the media-restricted Fascist regime of Francisco Franco to a struggling democracy with a free and open press. This experience is what leads Cebrián to assert that journalism plays a vital role in protecting civil liberties and democratic values. This gem of a book is a valuable manual for aspiring journalists and an informative guidebook for the rest of us.” –Library Journal
“A thoughtful collection of essays exploring the storied past and shifting present of reporting, a call to encourage what is best in journalism as we move into the tumultuous era of online news.” –Foreword Magazine
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