Newsroom Confidential

In this revealing memoir, celebrated journalist Margaret Sullivan takes readers behind the scenes of the nation's most influential news outlets, chronicling her trailblazing career and the fight for trust in American journalism.

Sullivan began her career at the Buffalo News, where she rose from summer intern to editor in chief. In Newsroom Confidential she recounts her years in the trenches battling sexism and throwing elbows in a highly competitive newsroom. In 2012, Sullivan made history as the first woman appointed public editor of The New York Times. In this unique role, she acted on behalf of readers to weigh the actions and reporting of the paper's staff, parsing potential lapses in judgment, unethical practices, and thorny journalistic issues. Sullivan navigated the paper's controversies, from Hillary Clinton's emails to Elon Musk's accusations of unfairness to the need for greater newsroom diversity.

After serving the longest tenure of any Times public editor, Sullivan joined the Washington Post in 2016, gaining a front-row seat to the rise of Donald Trump in American media and politics. With her signature blend of charm, sharp-eyed observation, and nuanced criticism, Sullivan explores how Americans lost trust in the news and what it will take to regain it.