It's a lousy day in Rockport. The bank was robbed, a man was killed, and in what may or may not be a coincidence, the school superintendent vanished without a trace.it couldn't have worked out any better for high school journalist Tiffany Everett. Everything happened on the first day of her one-week internship at an area television station. Tiffany has a chance to see small town journalism at its best and its worst, as she deals with an intriguing group of characters: Shannon Starbuck-the hometown girl and star reporter to whom Tiffany is assigned. Willie Taylor-her journalism teacher, who shares a past with Shannon. Kirk Robbins-the boy wonder newspaper editor who is willing to cut corners to beat the competition on the biggest story that has ever hit Rockport. During seven exciting days, Tiffany Everett sees the permanent damage that can be done when the media circus hits a small town.and if she's lucky, she may live to see football homecoming.
Mr. Turner's book may be the best satire on television news and the media since the movie "Network." Anyone who has worked around local television and small to medium-sized newspapers will recognize some of the characters in the book. Mr. Turner's wry reflections on what happens when the news media converges on an unsuspecting little town are right on the money. The book begins with a bang and takes readers through the events of a one-week period through the eyes of a TV reporter, a newspaper editor, a schoolteacher, and above all, a teenage girl who gets the chance to learn how the media works first hand. While I have never met Mr. Turner (which would appear to be clouding the judgment of the earlier reviewer), he appears to have a solid background in journalism, which enables him to provide an accurate reflection of small-town media. The book is categorized as a "young adult" offering and using the high school girl as its protagonist allows it work effectively in that context. After I started reading "Small Town News," I was unable to stop until I had finished the book. Turner has a refreshing writing style and definitely brought back memories of small-town life to me. I look forward to reading his next book.
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