Gray Lady Down

Journalist William McGowan traces the history of "The New York Times," describes its legacy within American journalism, and examines the fate of the "Times" in the twenty-first century.

The story of Jayson Blair and the chaos he sowed at the New York Times is a cautionary tale for the American media and for a public concerned about the accuracy of the news it consumes. A young African American reporter said to be ''promising and talented'' was found to have plagiarized a former fellow NYT intern on a story about Iraq War casualties. This led to revelations involving a long pattern of egregious plagiarism, outright fabrication, dateline fraud and other forms of journalistic deception - rocking the Times to its foundations. After nearly a month in the hot seat, the paper's two top editors resigned, under pressure from publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and despite promises that no such ''newsroom scapegoating'' would occur. The Times management called the Blair scandal an anomaly that shouldn't stain the paper's reputation or raise questions about racial favoritism. But as William McGowan shows in this hard-hitting inquiry, the episode was symptomatic of a long institutional and intellectual downward slide that has set America's most important news icon at odds with its journalistic mission - and with much of mainstream America. Using the Blair Affair as a springboard, McGowan examines the past decade at the Times, focusing on figures such as Sulzberger, fired editor Howell Raines and Jayson Blair himself to understand how an ''irreplaceable national institution'' could turn into the butt of late-night Letterman and Leno jokes. How did the Times become so suffused with intellectual orthodoxy and so committed to a tattered political correctness? Who is responsible for squandering the finest legacy in American journalism? Can the Times recover? These are some of the questions McGowan ponders in Gray Lady Down, the inside story of what happened to America's ''Paper of Record.

Think a newspaper can’t be responsible for mass murder? Think again. As flagship of the American news media, the New York Times is the world’s most powerful news outlet. With thousands of reporters covering events from all corners of the globe, the Times has the power to influence wars, foment revolution, shape economies and change the very nature of our culture. It doesn’t just cover the news: it creates it. The Gray Lady Winked pulls back the curtain on this illustrious institution to reveal a quintessentially human organization where ideology, ego, power and politics compete with the more humble need to present the facts. In its 10 gripping chapters, The Gray Lady Winked offers readers an eye-opening, often shocking, look at the New York Times’s greatest journalistic failures, so devastating they changed the course of history. How its World War II Berlin bureau chief, a known Nazi collaborator, skewed coverage in favor of the Third Reich for over a decade. Its notorious coverup of the Ukraine Famine, a genocide committed by Stalin, showing that it was the newspaper's owners who directed the coverup in order to advance their own financial and ideological interests. The “1619 Project," a cynical, ideologically driven attempt to revise American history by rooting the nation's birth in slavery instead of liberty. The result is an essential look at the tangled relationship between media, power and politics in a post-truth world told with novelistic flair to reveal a uniquely powerful institution’s tortured relationship with the truth. Most importantly of all, The Gray Lady Winked presents a cautionary tale that shows what happens when the guardians of the truth abandon that sacred value in favor of self-interest and ideology—and what this means for our future as much as for our past.

Evil isn't born. It's built. The House on Cold Hill is a chilling and suspenseful ghost story from the multi-million copy bestselling author of Dead Simple, Peter James. Moving from the heart of the city to the Sussex countryside is a big undertaking for born townies, Ollie Harcourt, his wife, Caro, and their twelve-year-old daughter, Jade. But when they view Cold Hill House – a huge, dilapidated, Georgian mansion – they are filled with excitement. Despite the financial strain of the move, Ollie sees Cold Hill House as a paradise for his animal-loving daughter, a base for his web-design business and a terrific long-term investment. But, within days of moving in, it becomes apparent that the Harcourt family aren't the only residents in the house. At first it is only a friend of Jade, talking to her on FaceTime, who sees a spectral woman standing behind her. Then there are more sightings of her, and increasingly disturbing occurrences. Two weeks after moving in, Caro, out in the garden, is startled to see faces staring out of an upstairs window of the house. The window of a room which may hold the secret to the house's dark history . . . A room which does not appear to exist. 'Superbly creepy modern horror story' - Book of the Week, Sunday Mirror

A paranormal rollercoaster ride with goosebumps at every turn--now a motion picture starring Uma Thurman and Anna Sophia Robb! Kit Gordy sees Blackwood Hall towering over black iron gates, and she can't help thinking, This place is evil. The imposing mansion sends a shiver of fear through her. But Kit settles into a routine, trying to ignore the rumors that the highly exclusive boarding school is haunted. Then her classmates begin to show extraordinary and unknown talents. The strange dreams, the voices, the lost letters to family and friends, all become overshadowed by the magic around them. When Kit and her friends realize that Blackwood isn't what it claims to be, it might be too late.

Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price. It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.