The News Sorority

August 4, 2014
This unwieldy triple biography has an ambitious scope and ample shortcomings. The account of the ascents of three powerful women in the male-dominated realm of network news adds to the history of the waning era of conventional broadcasting, but the blend of insider gossip, lists of successful interviews, and often fawning, awkward prose makes it slow going. The Sawyer-Couric professional rivalry is at the heart of the book, and the smoothest narrative of this large work is the story of how Couric beat out Sawyer to become the first solo female anchor of a nightly newscast, CBS’s Evening News, in 2006. There’s glamour aplenty in Amanpour’s cross-cultural background, Couric’s rise to daytime stardom, and Sawyer’s striking presence in her early career and marriage to film director Mike Nichols. As a biographer, Weller (Girls Like Us) never really bridges her distance from her subjects, and she fails to explain the conventions of successful television news until halfway through the book. The best insights come from interviews with the legions of producers, writers and camera people who back up the on-camera talent.

August 1, 2014
The long, lonely, unlovely scramble to making it to the top in TV news. As she did in her fluid multitiered biography Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon-and the Journey of Generation (2008), Vanity Fair contributor Weller takes apart feminist icons of her generation-those who came of age in the 1960s and '70s-to see how they work and how they made it to prime time. Here, concentrating on the three women of corporate TV news who are still at their peaks-Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric and Christiane Amanpour (the author ignores Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill)-Weller finds in their examples bracing tales of tenacity against a bastion of sexism during a time when established newscasters like Harry Reasoner believed women simply did not belong on the air. The passage of Title IX in June 1972 compelled the networks to hire a certain percentage of women or face discrimination lawsuits, and hence Leslie Stahl and Connie Chung got their starts, paving the way for others. At NBC's Today Show, Couric would benefit from the battle-scarred promotions of predecessors Barbara Walters and Jane Pauley. Sawyer, curiously, languished for four years after Watergate aiding the disgraced President Richard Nixon in writing his autobiography; thus, the brainy, "mysterious," hardworking reporter had to overcome a stigma when she first came aboard CBS News in 1978. Amanpour, born in London to an Iranian family, became a tireless, well-respected crusading international correspondent for CNN; she was especially instrumental in bringing the Bosnian catastrophe to American attention. Amanpour also had to overcome bias toward women in the field, as well as with regard to her English accent. Weller is most admiring of Amanpour's gutsiness, rather hardest on "America's sweetheart" Couric, and clearly smitten with Sawyer. Inspiring bios of today's professional heroines.

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September 15, 2014
In a business that continues to be overwhelmingly male-dominated, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, and Christiane Amanpour have carved out extraordinary careers for themselves, breaking barriers for women in television reporting. Best-selling author Weller draws on interviews with their friends and colleagues to offer portraits of the will and ambition each mustered to achieve iconic status. Raised in the genteel South, Sawyer has developed a hardworking, sophisticated image. Amanpour, whose family was forced out of Iran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, developed an abiding interest in international affairs. Couric, best known for her perky daytime persona, had to earn more serious regard as she became a network anchor. These women have operated across the spectrum in television, from 60 Minutes to ABC World News Tonight, from CNN to CBS Evening News. Weller details the personal tragedies they've dealt with: the death of Sawyer's father, personal threats to Amanpour, Couric's loss of her first husband to cancer. Weller also explores the unique personalities of these women and the set expectations among broadcast executives and viewers that they have had to overcome.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2014

Women have long struggled to be recognized as credible anchors on television news programs. In her latest work, Weller (Girls Like Us) documents the careers and lives of three contemporary female journalists: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, and Christiane Amanpour. Interspersing the personal and the professional, the author covers each woman's career in great detail, describing the struggles they faced as they transitioned from being small-time news anchors to media elite. Relying on interviews with their colleagues alongside portraits of their work, Weller uses a journalistic style to recount each phase of the women's careers. Sawyer leveraged a start in local TV broadcasts in Louisville, KY, into a career that has included 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, and ABC World News. Amanpour is recognized for her fearless coverage of war zones and her work with CNN. Couric moved from cohosting the Today show to anchoring CBS Evening News. Brimming with insider details, the book exposes the inner working of television. There is no sense that these contemporaries are collegial; the competitive side of the job is depicted as well. VERDICT News junkies and fans will love all of the insider details on the media and the lives of these women.--Judy Solberg, Sacramento, CA

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