Untended Gates: The Mismanaged Press

Newspaper editor, former chairman of the National News Council and ex-president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Isaacs has long been known for his concern with journalistic ethics. Here he rails against what he considers shoddy ethical practices, and praises integrity in the field. After criticizing the selection process by which middle managers, such as assistant city editors, are chosen, he goes on to deplore hoaxes (the Pulitzer Prizewinning Washington Post story about an eight-year-old heroin addict) and the semi-fiction of many ""new journalists.'' Isaacs does find things to applaud, particularly the growing trend toward ombudsmen on newspapers and various journalism-review magazines. The book's basically negative tone, however, may put off many of the media people for whom it is largely intended. January