About the Book
It's thirty seconds to air. The interviewee has walked off in a huff. The next guest hasn't arrived. There's a wall of riot police behind me. The cameraman only speaks Hungarian and has out my head out of the shot but I don't know his word for 'wide angle'. Then comes the quiet. Utter silence in my head. We've just lost comms with the whole team back in London. I can choose to scream. Or to surrender to the moment. Then, a hand is waved at me as a visual cue. And I start talking.
The things that are said on camera are only part of the story. Behind every interview there is a backstory. How it came about. How it ended. The compromises that were made. The regrets, the rows, the deeply inappropriate comedy. Making news is an essential but imperfect art. It rarely goes according to plan.
I never expected to find myself wandering around the Maharani of Jaipurs bedroom with Bill Clinton or invited to the Miss USA beauty pageant by its owner, Donald Trump. I never expected to be thrown into a provincial cuban jail, or to be drinking red wine at Steve Bannon's kitchen table or spend three hours in a lift with Alan Partridge. I certainly didnt expect the Dalai Lama to tell me the story of his most memorable poo.
The beauty of television is its ability to simplify, That's also its weakness-
It can distill everything down to one snapshot, one soundbite. Then the news cycle moves on.
Airhead is my step back from the white noise. Before and after the camera started rolling, this is what really happened.
About the Author :
Emily Maitlis presents the BBC Flagship nightly current affairs show Newsnight and specialises in election coverage in the UK and the USA. The Canadian born Sheffield raised British television presenter and journalist began her career in Hong Kong. She lives in London with one husband, two boys, and a large whippet.
Review :
Anyone who has spent this election campaign shouting at the TV needs a copy of Emily Maitlis's Airhead in their Christmas stocking. It's funny and subtly smart, taking the reader behind the camera
Maitlis has written a deliciously funny book about the high-wire act of broadcasting and the madness that surrounds it. Lots of famous presenters have written books but Maitlis' is different . . . Irresistible. She sounds great company . . . Her book's a romp
Maitlis paints a vivid picture of the intensity and unpredictability that come with her assignments, which punctures the perceived glamour of life reporting the news . . . Her writing is excellent: precise, economical and accessible
She is a superb writer, used to throwing together pacy, engaging scripts at a second's notice. Each chapter is dedicated to one of her interviews - it is a sort of greatest-hits compilation
[Emily] is so absolutely of the moment, a quasi-memoir could not be better timed. Airhead is a compilation of her greatest hits. And boy are there many . . . narrated in her snappy, chatty style . . . her asides are acerbic, her observations hilarious
She recounts the interviews of her career, from the great, the good and the questionable, offering insights into the questions that illuminated their characters and the ones they dodged. A chapter on being the target of a stalker reveals her more vulnerable side in this compelling book
Airhead is, like its author, funny, wise, self-deprecating and insightful
Smart, funny and brilliantly told stories about what goes on behind the scenes of television news. A joy
Revelatory, riveting and frequently hilarious. A joy from beginning to end
A remarkable journey through the jungle of newsmaking. It combines razor-sharp analysis with compelling narrative drive and wit. A must-read
A wonderfully sane book for our unhinged times
Emily has a style that would make you enjoy her report on the end of the world. Absolutely irresistible
The irony of this riveting, enlightening and sometimes painfully honest book is that you couldn't meet less of an airhead than Emily Maitlis - a bold, fearless journalist, a splendidly probing and well-prepared interlocutor, and a warm, sharp and witty woman at the top of her game on and off camera. I'm just very disappointed there's only one chapter about me
A light and easy read but a thought-provoking one
An irreverent and amusing account of her media career
Smart and Broadcast News-funny, Airhead is peppered with insider anecdotes you could only pick up working on the kind of big news stories that the journalist has covered for decades
Not an autobiography but a serious book about journalism, disguised in anecdotal chapters about her encounters with the great and the good and the rather awful . . . leads the reader towards a deeper understanding of an essential part of our culture: current affairs . . . this is a book that engages at every level
Vividly demonstrates her drive to report
A deliciously funny behind-the-scenes take on broadcasting and her encounters with politicians and celebrities
Fascinating . . . [an] excellent book
A behind-the-scenes look at how news gets made
A fascinating and brilliantly evocative ringside seat at some of the most notable interviews she's done
Behind-the-scenes accounts of her famous encounters, including those with Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama, among many others
She lifts the veil on the inner workings of the BBC, as she reflects on her long career as a journalist
She offers insights into everyone from Donald Trump to Simon Cowell, showing them not just as what they represent, but as individuals with flaws and charm
One of the best we've read this year . . . This insightful, hilarious and engrossing memoir from one of our most well-liked TV broadcasters takes you behind the scenes of the biggest news stories in recent years
Recounts, one guest per chapter, a number of her interviews with the boldest of boldface figures . . . Entertaining
A quick, absorbing read . . . my overriding impression is of rather breathless thoughtfulness . . . her formidable intelligence and self-deprecating awareness shine brightly
We love the Maitlis
We're obsessed with Emily Maitlis in this house
Emily Maitlis is a particular hero of mine . . . I know I'm in for a treat with Airhead
Emily Maitlis is one of my favourite interviewers and I want to read her tales of interviewing people such as Donald Trump, Theresa May and Simon Cowell
A fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into modern television news
It's a brilliant, often funny, behind-the-scenes account of her working life, written by one of Britain's best television broadcasters. It proves she's far from an airhead!
She gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most engaging interviews she's conducted in recent years - with all the wrangling, arguing, pleading and last-minute script writing they involved. Insightful, funny and engrossing, we love it.
The irony of this riveting, enlightening and sometimes painfully honest book is that you couldn't meet less of an airhead than Emily Maitlis - a bold, fearless journalist, a splendidly probing and well-prepared interlocutor, and a warm, sharp and witty woman at the top of her game on and off camera. I'm just very disappointed there's only one chapter about me
Revelatory, riveting and frequently hilarious. A joy from beginning to end
A remarkable journey through the jungle of newsmaking. It combines razor-sharp analysis with compelling narrative drive and wit. A must-read.
A wonderfully sane book for our unhinged times.
Emily has a style that would make you enjoy her report on the end of the world. Absolutely irresistible
Smart, funny and brilliantly told stories about what goes on behind the scenes of television news. A joy.
